iris (when one pretends)
by hausos-writing
Summary: Masaki knows everything (not really, but it's not until later that Ichigo realizes this). Ichigo asks questions (about identities, but perhaps not enough about anything else). Ichigo has a uterus (but isn't a girl, or a boy). Ichigo doesn't Give a Fuck (lies. He cares too much, but only about his family). Sometimes, asking questions leads to (almost) everything changing
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Wow. Okay, this story is... a year in the making? I think... yeah, I just checked, it has definitely been more than a year since I first started thinking/writing notes about this. And like all my stories tend to, what I imagined in the beginning isn't how it ended up here.

The chapter itself was written in the span of a week during this month's campnanowrimo. It was going to be longer, but I got tired at the end and decided that since the next bits were pretty important for Ichigo to go through, that they'd be put in the next chapter.

This is my baby, so I'm a bit nervous about letting the world see it. But excited too! Let's see how this goes, yeah?

UPDATE: 10/7/2018, I updated the story! It's been re-written to add another 10,000 words, and what was only two chapters has been spread across all four. The last half of chapter four is completely new content. I have not given up on this story whatsoever. No matter how long it takes, it will be updated! So please enjoy the updated version or iris.

* * *

Ichigo woke up, his stomach churning. It was the same anticipatory feeling he got in the face of a test.

He lay in bed for several minutes, debating whether or not to just go back to sleep. That chance was taken from him when his alarm went off. Ichigo sighed and sat up, running a hand through his hair. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen no matter what Ichigo did. With his luck, it would probably take place in his bedroom-

Ichigo paused, and then sighed. _Of course. Of course I'd jinx myself. Good going, Ichigo_.

He dragged himself out of bed, feeling sluggish. Ichigo went through his morning routine, and mentally complained the entire way. It took more effort than it usually did, but Ichigo managed to put his uniform on and comb his hair. Even grabbing all of his textbooks and homework into his bag took effort that it normally did not.

Thankfully he felt more awake after washing his face.

"Wake up, Karin!" Ichigo called. He knocked on the twins' door on his way downstairs. There was an answering groan in response, which was as much of a confirmation as anything. Ichigo smiled at it, knocked on the door again, and then headed downstairs.

Yuzu, of course, was already awake and making breakfast. She always was the most competent of them. "Good morning, Onii-chan!" Yuzu greeted cheerfully. She gracefully accepted the hair pat that Ichigo gave her.

"Morning," Ichigo replied and went to set the table.

He would deal with what was coming later. Whatever it was, it was something _big_. Ichigo wasn't hiding away, no matter how he felt. Ichigo hated feeling helpless, and did his best to ignore it when it happened. It didn't matter if it was good, bad, or neither. So, something that made him feel like sleeping the day away? Not. Good. Ichigo was going to face it head on.

"Morning," Karin yawned. She rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning, Karin-chan!" Yuzu greeted. She rubbed her cheek against her twin's, a movement Karin returned automatically.

"Go get Goat-Face," Ichigo said, amused. One of the only ways to keep Karin from face planting into breakfast was to send her to bring their father in for breakfast.

"Okay," Karin mumbled, and stumbled slightly to the clinic door where Dad was opening the clinic for the day. "Oi, Goat-Face! It's time for breakfast!" she yelled.

Sending Karin to grab their father was the only way to bring _him_ in from the clinic, too. He didn't do much with the family unless excessive force was used. Honestly, Ichigo thought that Dad would work until he collapsed if not for any of them. 'Moderation' was not a word that Kurosaki Isshin knew.

"Good morning, my precious children!" Dad bellowed when he came inside. Karin, wisely, was already out of reach.

"Oi, Goat-Face! Watch where you're going!" Ichigo snapped at him, ducking under a frantic open-armed tackle. Ichigo placed the last of their breakfast on the kitchen table and turned to his father. "You almost made me drop the food!"

"Ah! My son is so mean to me!" Dad wailed, fake tears streaming down his face. Seriously, where did he even get that skill? The only consolation at that moment was that Dad wasn't prostate himself in front of the poster of Mom. Yet.

"Onii-chan, Otou-chan," Yuzu said mildly. She tapped her wooden spoon against the table. Ichigo immediately straightened and Dad quieted. "Breakfast is ready. Please sit down."

Ichigo sat down. Dad did as well. Karin yawned and looked ready to fall asleep again.

Breakfast continued on as normal once their morning routine complete. One of the only times that Dad was quiet around the family was when they were all eating. It was why mornings tended to be Ichigo's favorite time of the day.

"Where's Nee-chan?" Karin asked halfway through breakfast. She blinked blearily around the kitchen table. Ichigo looked fondly at her. It seemed that Karin was finally awake enough to realize that her favorite person was not there.

"She had practice," Ichigo said. Tatsuki was the president of the karate club at the high school, as well as an assistant at the dojo. She was busy with karate, but still managed to complete her schoolwork as well as having a social life. Sometimes Tatsuki scared Ichigo.

"She didn't take her lunch," Yuzu said, frowning. "I saw the bento I made her still in the fridge."

"I'll take it to her," Ichigo said. "Did she at least grab something to eat?"

Yuzu nodded. "I also made lunch for Sado-nii-chan. Please take it to him."

Chad had recently lost one of his part time jobs. Everyone took turns making him lunch so that he had something to eat for the day and so that Chad could focus on finding another job. Chad did have some pride, though, so it was a good thing that Yuzu had been the one to bring up the idea. No one could say no to her.

"Yeah, I'll take them," Ichigo said.

It didn't take long for them to finish with breakfast and clean up. Ichigo did the dishes while Karin wiped down the table. They refused to let Yuzu clean up since she was the one that cooked most often. Rather, Yuzu went to go and get ready for school.

"Stay safe, my children!" Dad yelled. He waved excitedly at the three of them until they turned the corner. Ichigo walked with his sisters every morning unless he had homeroom duties.

"I have no idea where he gets his energy from," Ichigo muttered.

Eh, it didn't matter. It was comforting how little Dad had changed over the years. He had been this excitable and energetic and _loud_ for as long as Ichigo could remember. Dad still kept trying to pick Ichigo up and spin him around, still under the impression that Ichigo was still five.

Not that Ichigo let him, of course. He had put a stop to that when he was nine.

"How goes soccer?" Ichigo asked Karin.

"They're still being annoying!" Karin frowned.

"They still aren't letting Karin-chan make the co-ed team," Yuzu said. She sounded disappointed in the establishment, which. _Ha_.

Ichigo hummed. "Well, don't let their stupidity stop you. Continue working at it. You're _Kurosaki_. They'll give in eventually."

"You and Nee-chan will help, right?" Karin asked.

"Of course," Ichigo smirked. "But don't sell yourself short, Karin." Ichigo knew that Karin could, and would, deal with the situation on her own if prompted. Ichigo and Tatsuki wouldn't need to help whatsoever, but they would keep an eye on her.

"I'll try my best to help!" Yuzu said cheerfully. By which she meant that if someone died of say, poisoning, not to be surprised.

Yuzu wouldn't _actually_ kill someone. Hopefully. Maybe. Eh…

"Please don't kill anyone," Ichigo said. Not that they wouldn't all vouch for Yuzu if they had to, but still. Killing people generally invited their spirits to haunt you. And they all had enough spirits haunting them already. There was no need to be bringing more into their lives.

"If anyone in this family ends up a murderer, it's going to be me," Karin said flatly, staring at them both. "I'm the one that has to deal with these people."

"No one is going to kill anyone," Ichigo said, "Because then they will haunt you. And that will be annoying."

Karin scrunched her nose. She looked adorable, like a bunny. Ichigo would never tell her that. Karin would never take it lying down. And Karin could be vicious when she felt wronged. "Killing someone twice does seem like too much effort," she allowed.

"Can you even kill a spirit?" Yuzu asked curiously.

Yuzu couldn't see spirits, really. She could hear them, though. Often before either Ichigo or Karin could. They didn't know what Yuzu _could_ see if not for human spirits, though, since she had too much _reiatsu_ to not see anything at all. Ichigo figured that they would all find out one day. Not in Karakura, though, since Yuzu said she didn't see much of anything.

"Probably," Ichigo said, shrugging. "Hollows are spirits, and we kill those just fine. I don't know what happens afterwards though."

"Huh," Yuzu said. She looked pensive.

Whoops.

"You're too young to be a mad scientist," Ichigo said, and rubbed Yuzu's hair. He looked at Karin, eyebrow raised. "You too, Karin. Wait until you're both thirteen. At least. No murders, experiments, or anything that can be tried under Japanese law until you're both teenagers. Or, better yet, past high school."

Education was important, damn it all. Ichigo would never decide what Karin and Yuzu should do with their lives. The twins were their own people. But that did _not_ mean that Ichigo would let them do _everything_ they absolutely wanted, either. At least, not until they became legal adults and fully able to take care of themselves. And even then Ichigo would make sure to keep an eye on them.

"Yeah, yeah," Karin said and rolled her eyes. "It sounds like too much effort anyways. To be a serial killer, I mean."

"I'll be good, Onii-chan!" Yuzu assured.

Sometimes Ichigo wondered if they were all crazy, to talk about life and death so casually. Then he would imagine Uryū rolling his eyes at Ichigo's dramatics and tell Ichigo that as long as he was in good company, he'd be fine.

The rest of the walk to the elementary school passed quietly. Despite how Ichigo felt when he woke up, it was a beautiful day. Even this early in the morning, Ichigo could tell that it would be enjoyable. Maybe he could get Chad to visit for dinner.

Maybe Ichigo would visit Naomi today.

"Goodbye, Onii-chan!" Yuzu said, "Have a nice day at school!"

"See you," Karin added.

"Yeah. Be good, okay?" Ichigo said. He rubbed his hands through both of their hair. Karin made a show of swatting his hands away, but Ichigo knew better.

Ichigo waited by the elementary school's gates until Yuzu and Karin were safely inside. Once they were halfway to the main entrance, he left. A couple of the other students who recognized him smiled and waved. Most of them recognized him as Yuzu and Karin's older brother, so they knew that he was safe. That he would protect them from all of the monsters that adults didn't think were real.

It was something that Ichigo delighted in, and it never failed to make his day.

"Kurosaki!" someone yelled during Ichigo's trek to the high school.

Ichigo momentarily paused, but continued on. _Nah. Not happening._ Ichigo had enough to worry about today without some random thugs trying to ruin whatever happiness he got by being around his sisters.

Oblivious walking it was.

"What do you want?" Ichigo asked as he walked. They would either catch up or be left behind. Ichigo really did not care.

"You messed with the wrong crowd yesterday, you punk!" someone else said Well, Ichigo thought it was someone else. The voice sounded vaguely different… eh. Ichigo really did not give a shit.

Ichigo blinked. "Uh, who?" he asked. He genuinely did not remember. Not that he was paying attention to _these_ guys to remember them. Too many people decided that Ichigo was worth fighting for him to try to remember them.

Seriously. His mother was a quarter German. So what if a quirk of genetics left Ichigo with bright red hair and freckles? It wasn't that interesting. The freckles were a family thing. And the red hair had precedent, anyways. Ichigo remembered that his mother had the prettiest brown hair that would turn vaguely red in the summer.

There was a roar of outrage behind him. Ichigo sighed and ducked. He brought up his elbow up and back. He hit someone in the gut, and they let out a grunt of pain. Ichigo continued moving forward, throwing anyone that tried tackling him into the ground.

They never learned. Ichigo wasn't even _trying_.

"Are you guys done?" Ichigo asked exasperatedly. He glanced behind him. Oh, they were all on the ground now. "I guess you are," he said.

Hmm. The rest of the walk to school would be peaceful then. Or as peaceful as it ever got. None of the thugs had even pulled a knife on him today! _A good morning_ , Ichigo thought, pleased.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue greeted.

"Oh, morning Inoue," Ichigo returned. He smiled when they caught up with each other. "I keep forgetting that you live in this area."

"It's because I spend so much time at Tatsuki-chan's house!" Inoue said cheerfully. "I saw those people attacking you. Are you okay?" she asked.

Ichigo snorted. "I'm fine. They didn't even have a knife on them."

Inoue looked curious. "Really? The ladies that keep trying to attack Tatsuki-chan learned to always bring a knife with them earlier this year."

"I think I beat one of them up yesterday?" Ichigo offered, "But they went down so easily that I'm not sure I'd remember them. Even if my life depended on it."

"That's true," Inoue agreed. She was well aware of Ichigo's continuous problems with faces and names. "Your throws were beautifully done, by the way," she said approvingly.

Ichigo flushed. He always flushed when someone he _knew_ was good at what they did complimented him. Tatsuki may have been the one to start training Inoue, but it was _Inoue_ that decided to continue her training. Inoue knew karate just as Tatsuki and Ichigo did, but focused on Judo. Tatsuki and Ichigo would beat Inoue in a straight fight, as Inoue's gentle heart made it hard for her to move offensively. That did _not_ mean that Inoue reached black belt by being lazy.

"Thanks," Ichigo said.

"No problem!" Inoue chirped, "Oh yeah. Tatsuki-chan texted me. She said that she forgot lunch."

"She did," Ichigo confirmed, "Yuzu packed Tatsuki and Chad's lunch today."

"Oh!" Inoue smiled, "Tomorrow is my turn to cook for Sado-kun, right?"

"Yeah. As spicy as you can make it," Ichigo said. Because Chad was a masochist and loved spicy foods. Not that Ichigo _didn't_ , Chad just took it to an extreme.

"As always!" Inoue agreed, "I love cooking for Sado-kun! He's the only one that appreciates the _fire_."

"I have no idea why you like your food that hot," Ichigo said.

"You are just weak," Inoue sniffed imperiously. The effect was ruined by her poorly hidden smile.

Ichigo and Inoue bantered the rest of the way to school. Tatsuki was the one that brought Inoue into the Kurosaki family fold, and Inoue fit _perfectly_. It seemed that the Kurosaki family gathered all of the strange ones. Not that Ichigo was complaining. If he were surrounded by _normal_ people, he'd go crazy from absolute boredom.

"You are miraculously not late," Uryū said by way of greeting when Ichigo and Inoue reached homeroom. He didn't even raise his head from his sewing, the _asshole_. "Did you get attacked today?"

"Good morning to you too," Ichigo said and rolled his eyes. Why Uryū was one of his favorite people, Ichigo didn't know.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun got jumped!" Inoue assured, "They just weren't very good."

"That's nice to hear," Uryū said. He still didn't look up from his work. "I was afraid that I ended up in a parallel dimension by accident."

"I'd think that you'd figure that out very quickly, Ishida-kun," Inoue said.

"Thank you," Uryū said. And then he finally looked up. "Good morning, Inoue-san."

"Good morning, Ishida-kun!" Inoue returned brightly.

"Fuck you too," Ichigo said when he sat down. Uryū just smirked at him. Seriously. Asshole.

"Good morning," Chad rumbled quietly not a second later. His arrival stopped Ichigo from hitting Uryū upside the head.

 _Dammit_. Uryū was better at sensing spiritual energy than Ichigo was. He definitely planned that.

Wait, _no_. Ichigo did not care. He hit Uryū upside the head. Uryū frowned at him, but Ichigo just stuck his tongue out.

"Morning," Ichigo said, and smiled at Chad. He held out his fist, which Chad gracefully turned into a fist bump. "You get jumped today?"

"Yes," Chad said, and sat down. "None of them had a weapon."

Ichigo whistled. "It seems that today is the day of useless fighters. None of the people that tried jumping me had anything on them either."

"They didn't even try attacking him differently!" Inoue said, frowning. She looked very much like a disappointed parent. _Ha_. For all her being a pacifist, she was remarkably comfortable with violence. "Why would you all tackle someone that already showed that he could use your momentum against you?"

"Because they're all idiots, that's why," Tatsuki said as she stormed into the room. Her hair was damp from the shower she had taken. _Hm_. Tatsuki normally didn't make a sound when walking. Probably a bad practice. One of the other students must have been an idiot.

"Here. You forgot your lunch," Ichigo said and handed Tatsuki her bento.

"Thanks," Tatsuki said reverently, as one always should when presented with Yuzu's cooking. She put it away in her desk.

"Yuzu made you lunch too, Chat," Ichigo said. He held out the box for Chad to take.

Chad paused for a second before taking the bento gracefully. There wasn't any sign of protest, either. Ichigo refrained from smiling. Ichigo knew that Yuzu was scary, but it was always gratifying to see how other people reacted to her.

"Thank her for me, please," Chad said.

"You can always tell her yourself, you know," Tatsuki said. She leaned back in her chair and put her feet in Ichigo's lap, legs extended across the small aisle between their seats. Her recent growth spurt made her legs long enough to do that. "The twins adore you. They'll be happier if you visit more often."

"I don't wish to intrude," Chad said.

"If you don't, they'll resort to kidnapping you," Uryū said mildly.

"Thanks," Ichigo said dryly, "Kidnapping him will be harder now."

"I can carry him!" Inoue offered. _Ha_. Inoue totally could, too, which was the best part.

"Yeah, but no really," Ichigo said, "You really should come around more often Chad. Your apartment is nice and all, but it must suck living by yourself."

It would also help them keep a better eye on Chad. He could take care of himself pretty well, but having him around more often would make Ichigo worry less. Having Chad around more often in general would be great, too. Chad was Ichigo's best friend.

Chad didn't look entirely convinced. The guy really didn't like inconveniencing others. Still, from the look on his face, Chad definitely remembered Yuzu. And Ichigo _knew_ that Chad wanted to be around them more, even if he never said so. "Yeah, okay," Chad agreed.

Ichigo grinned. "Great!"

Their homeroom teacher came in not soon after. She looked at Ichigo and the others with a practiced glare. Eh. Ichigo had known her for a while now. She wasn't as much of a harass as she liked to pretend.

School was great at distracting Ichigo. He didn't like sitting down for long periods of time, but he was invested in learning new things. For one, new knowledge was always great. For another, the process had kept Ichigo distracted after his mother died. And then the habit just stuck.

Of course, Ichigo could distract himself. But he would never be able to _lie_ to himself.

Nor would he ever be able to lie to his friends.

"Okay," Tatsuki said when they all sat down for lunch. The roof was crowded. Uryū, Inoue, Chad, Mizuiro, and Keigo were all there. The latter two looking concerned was kind of horrifying by itself. "Spill."

"Spill what?" Ichigo asked. Tatsuki knew practically everything about him. She could be demanding something completely unrelated to the situation just to fuck with him.

"You've been off since this morning," Uryū said and rolled his eyes. " _Obviously_ something happened."

Ichigo paused, and thought about how to describe the sensation. "Ah, nothing _happened_ , technically… but I feel like something is going to happen?" he offered.

Uryū sighed, like Ichigo was being difficult on purpose. "Of course it is."

"Do you have any idea what it is?" Inoue asked, concerned.

"No," Ichigo said, and ran a hand through his hair. Stupid nervous habits. "It'll happen though. Probably in my bedroom. Because that is _just_ how my life works."

"Of course you'd jinx yourself," Uryū said. He smirked, the asshole. Maybe Ichigo had been too lenient lately on making Uryū suffer.

"If none of us are around for it," Tatsuki said, "You'd better tell us."

Ichigo snorted. Like he'd be able to keep a secret even if he wanted to. "When wouldn't I?"

"Never," Chad stated simply.

"Oh, you had better not," Uryū said.

Tatsuki hummed. "Okay, that's out of the way. What's everyone doing after school?" she asked.

"I think I'll visit Naomi," Ichigo said.

Little Naomi, dead for the past two years. He'd found her not too long after she had died, checking to see if her spirit had stayed or moved on after her death. Since she was still there, Ichigo had taken to visiting her every so often.

"I'd join you, but I have work today," Uryū said, and frowned. He liked Naomi, for whatever value of 'like' Uryū gave people.

"Is Naomi-chan any closer to moving on?" Inoue asked.

Ichigo shook his head. "Not that we're aware of. She's sticking around because she wants to look after her little brother. He doesn't have any spiritual power, but I guess that they were close enough that he can feel her." Kind of. And what he couldn't do on his own, Ichigo could help out with. Sometimes having an overabundance of spiritual energy was helpful.

"I'll go and get her some new flowers when I'm not so busy," Tatsuki said. She was fond of Naomi.

"Oh, me too!" Inoue said.

"Yeah, she'd like that," Ichigo said.

* * *

The flowers that Ichigo had left Naomi the last time he was here were knocked over when he got there.

"Once-chan?" Naomi asked, blinking up at him.

"Hey, Naomi," Ichigo greeted absentmindedly. He was angry, and his control was terrible enough that Naomi likely felt it. Not that she was reacting in any particular way. Naomi had been exposed to his spiritual energy for long enough that it would take more output than he was leaking now to affect her negatively.

"Are you okay?" Naomi asked.

"I should be the one asking you," Ichigo said. Naomi loved those flowers. And they served a practical purpose that had been interrupted. "Who were the ones that knocked your offering over?"

"Those guys," Naomi said, and pointed behind Ichigo.

She said it so nonchalantly. Ichigo, for a brief moment, silently marveled at how _vicious_ all of the women in his life could be. Naomi had to know that setting him on anyone that discomforted her would practically be a death sentence. And then he turned around.

Skateboarders, apparently, were the ones that knocked Naomi's offering down. Not very good ones, either. None of them looked particularly smart. Even now they were carless in where they went. It was lucky that there were no other people walking down this street; Ichigo was certain that any other bystanders would have been run over by now.

"Idiots," Ichigo grumbled.

"Onee-chan," Naomi said and blinked guilelessly up at them. "Can you scare them away?"

Ichigo glanced at her. He was too used to his sisters to fall for it, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't do what she wanted. He was angry enough not to particularly care. "Yeah, sure."

And, because they were idiots who likely wouldn't realize what happened until it had already passed, Ichigo announced his presence by taking one of them down. The guy landed on the ground with a satisfying _thud_. After a second, blood started leaking from his mouth.

"Why don't you guys get the fuck outta here?" Ichigo said, voice dropping. He had a good gravelly voice when he bothered to try. Ichigo made sure that his face was stony, and that he broadcasted his irritation clearly. People like this tended to be shit at body language and needed the obvious cues.

"What the-" one of the skaters shouted, and looked between the bloodied guy on the ground to Ichigo.

"You! You suddenly appear and take out Yama, and then you tell us to _leave_?" another shouted.

"Do you want to die?!" the last shouted.

Ichigo just stared them all down. He scratched behind his ear, utterly bored of their yelling. They always shouted the same things at him with no variety whatsoever. He could probably recite everything they yelled by heart. They'd run out of things to say eventually.

Finally, one of them got bored with posturing and ran at him yelling, "Say something, you-"

Ichigo lifted his leg and watched with utter satisfaction as the thug ran face first into Ichigo's foot. The sudden impact created a satisfying thud that had the other skaters all staring. Ichigo felt his hips flex with the motion, but it wasn't anything Ichigo wasn't used to.

Ichigo was viciously pleased when the thug fell to the ground in a heap. Pity that their nose didn't look broken. Well, that was at least one less person to make noise. Even if the mess was a problem.

Oh, wait. The other skater thugs were babbling. Something about… dying? Ichigo listened and then snorted. Accusing _him_ of irrational violence? Yeah, right. Ichigo didn't deny that he resorted to violence when prompted, but it was never irrational. Now, Tatsuki, Tatsuki could be irrationally violent. And so could Uryū under the right circumstances. No, Ichigo was _perfectly_ rational whenever he decided to fight someone.

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped. He used the thug at his feet's head as a footrest. "Look over there!"

"Wha-"

"Question one!" Ichigo yelled, and pointed to Naomi's offering. The situation was amusing, even if he didn't have to fake his anger. "You! The skinny looking one! What does that look like?"

The guy had the gall to look _meek_. What the hell. "A-an offering? To the kid who died here?"

Irritated, Ichigo knocked the guy out with a roundhouse kick. Beautifully done, too, he usually didn't kick that gracefully. Tatsuki would be proud. "Good answer!"

The two remaining skaters started worrying over _that_ one too. What the hell was his name… Man. Ichigo didn't even _care_ but the cutesy nickname wasn't helping any. Seriously, these guys!

"Question two!" Ichigo demanded, which brought the skaters' attention back to him. He used a calmer voice. Ichigo saw them flinch at his tone and smirked mentally. _Good_. "Why is the offering knocked over?"

"That's because…" the skater that spoke trailed off and glanced at the others. Wait. Did they really have to _think_ about it? Ichigo knew they were stupid, but there were _levels_. Sorry, Ichigo was irritated again. "We knocked it over… skateboarding?"

"I see," Ichigo said flatly.

This part would be tricky, and would require Naomi's help. Luckily she knew what to do, having been part of all of their experiments in the past. Naomi had drifted over to hover behind his shoulder, careful not to be immediately touching him.

Ichigo had enough spiritual energy to do this. That wasn't in question. It was well known that Ichigo didn't have the necessary control to _hide_ his spiritual presence from anyone. Uryū had even said that Ichigo was such a constant presence that the last time Uryū had left Karakura, he had mildly panicked at how _bare_ the rest of the world was.

So, Ichigo had a lot of spiritual energy. He could do _spells_. And, unlike the majority of the Quincy, Ichigo could cast spells without even using the _gintō_ most Quincy did.

Seals, in general, were easier. So were the _ofuda_. They were generally ink, slapped onto a surface, with paper being the most common, fueled by _intent_ and _power_. Both of which Ichigo had in spades. And which defined Ichigo in general, honestly. Spells and techniques, which had a matrix that needed to be followed to be viable? Blew up in Ichigo's face. Things, like seals, that only needed energy shoved at them to work? _Easy_.

So, making Naomi visible was something that Ichigo had practice in. Ichigo had started when Tatsuki expressed interest in meeting her, and Tatsuki was the only one that Ichigo knew who wasn't able to interact with Naomi in any way. So, with Naomi willing, Ichigo and Uryū had experimented. Through trial and error, they had figured out that shoving enough spiritual energy at a spirit would let that spirit be visible enough to those without spiritual energy. After all, every living thing was composed of spiritual energy. Few just had enough of it themselves to see it.

It wasn't an attack, so it did no damage. And after the first time, it created a seal that allowed bringing her to view easier and easier. Generally, Ichigo only gave Naomi enough energy to be seen by Tatsuki and Yuzu. And they only needed a partial image to see and hear Naomi. Anyone else saw her as they saw physical people.

This was a _bit_ more than just see through.

"Then shouldn't you apologize to _her_?" Ichigo demanded, and pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Naomi. He was immediately gratified to hear them all shriek in terror at her appearance. It was times like this that Ichigo remembered that a child covered in blood was actually pretty horrifying.

As the skaters babbled horrified apologies and promises to _never do it again_ , they sprinted away as fast as possible. Ichigo let Naomi fade from physical view, glad that they at least had the sense to grab their fallen friends and drag them along with them. There was still some blood stain on the sidewalk, but that was fine.

Ichigo sighed. "If we scared them that much, they probably won't be coming back again."

Naomi drifted past his shoulder, moving to hover in front of Ichigo. She clasped her hands behind her back. "Thank you, Onee-chan," she said. She was remarkably pleased by the skaters leaving.

"Sorry I had to use you like that," Ichigo offered. Naomi was wiling, and trusted him, but that didn't mean being used like that was good. Especially since being used in a spell was by not means comfortable. It didn't _hurt_ \- Ichigo had made certain of that- but it was the principle of the thing.

Naomi only shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'm the one who asked, so I should be willing to help at least that much."

Ichigo smiled. She really was a good kid. Then he looked at the sky, and then his watch. "Oh, shit, I'm going to be late. I'll bring you a new offering again soon, okay? And maybe with Tatsuki and Inoue."

"Okay!" Naomi agreed cheerfully. "Thanks, Onee-chan."

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo said and patted Naomi on her head. He felt blood sticking to his hand, but knew from experience that it wasn't actually there. It wasn't the most pleasant of feelings, but Naomi deserved nice things occasionally. "Hurry up and move on, will you?" he teased, fully aware that Naomi would not.

"Good night, Onee-chan!" Naomi called as Ichigo walked off. He waved at her as he turned a corner.

It was already almost seven. Considering that Ichigo was going to be late _anyways_ , Ichigo decided to enjoy the walk back home. Dad would try attacking him anyways. Yuzu, he was worried about. He hated worrying her, and being late for dinner usually counted.

Ichigo did manage to talk with another couple of spirits on his way home. Karakura was a hotbed for spiritual energy, so spirits tended to stick around more often. There were spirits in residence that had been around since before his _mother_ was born. They were actually the ones that brought up that Yuzu might see other things.

One of the tasks that his mom taught Ichigo and Uryū to do was to check on those spirits. Despite their age and growing power, they were still human spirits that needed to be protected from hollows. So, Ichigo and Uryū maintained the wards dotted around Karakura designed specifically for them.

Ichigo didn't have the time now, but spirits also tended to be more helpful when the Living remembered them.

Naomi didn't exist very far, and it didn't take lone for Ichigo to make it home. He was still late, but even his more casual walk wasn't as long as some routes. He ignored the clinic entrance, which had a CLOSED sign posted over the glass window. Their house had a side door.

"I'm home!" Ichigo called.

And then ducked as Dad attempted to kick his head off of his shoulders.

"You are _late_ , you ungrateful son of mine!" Dad bellowed, and pointed at Ichigo.

"Don't try to kick my head off when I get through the door and I wouldn't have to be ungrateful, you shitty father!" Ichigo yelled right back.

That sparked some irritation in his dad. Not that it took much. Dad felt too much too easily sometimes. There was a half second of blessed calm before… well. It devolved into a brawl. Because Dad was an utter _child_ and Ichigo tended to feed off that energy.

"Onii-chan! Otou-chan!" Yuzu said, voice just heard above the noise of their fight.

Ichigo stopped. He got a fist to his jaw for his trouble, but he _did_! Dad took a second longer to register that Yuzu had spoken.

"Yes, my adorable and flawless daughter?" Dad asked. He was always quick with praise for Yuzu, as was given, but he took different tones for different situations. He looked and sounded sheepish, which he damn well _should_.

"Dinner is ready. Please let Onii-chan up," Yuzu said.

Dad scrambled to get of of the floor and to sit at the table. Calm Yuzu, when normally she would be worried or flustered at their fighting, is terrifying on a level that Ichigo can't explain. At least it's not directed at him this time.

Ichigo sat up and rubbed his jaw. _Hm_. Bruised, but nothing that wouldn't disappear in a couple of days. _Eh_. Not the worst fight that Ichigo and Dad have ever gotten in. Yuzu must have just wanted it to stop before escalating to that point.

"You okay, Ichi-nii?" Karin asked. Neither twin had bothered to wait for Ichigo or Dad to sit down before eating. Probably a good thing.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. He rolled his shoulders and then sat down.

Dinner, as always, was a lively affair. Ichigo and Yuzu tried to get Karin to emote beyond _tired_. Yuzu tried to keep the peace around that. Dad was loud and boisterous and made everything hard on them. It was routine.

"Um," Yuzu said halfway through the meal. She looked hesitant. "Onii-chan?"

"Yeah?" Ichigo asked.

"You've got another ghost," Karin said. She pointed her chopsticks at it. "Kind of pathetic looking, too."

Ichigo sighed and looked over his shoulder, unsurprised that he didn't notice. He tended to ignore ghosts that latched onto him since it happened so often. The ghost _did_ look pathetic. It wasn't that they were wearing a suit and the nerdiest pair of glasses that ichigo had ever seen, either. It was that they were curled in on themselves, what solid lines they had were squiggly, and how nervous they appeared.

They were also attached at his shoulder.

"What the hell, dude!" Ichigo said, "Go away! We're _eating_!" Ichigo tried to push the spirit off. What the hell was so unique about _his_ spiritual energy that spirits tended to stick to him like glue? They didn't do that to Uryū!

' _It's because you have really bad control, Ichigo'_ the Uryū of his head said. Even in Ichigo's head he was an asshole. Correct, of course, but still!

"But you can see me!" the spirit wailed, "that means you can help me, right?" Oh, gods, the spirit didn't even have the _arms_ to rub his hands together nervously.

"No, I can't," Ichigo said. He really, really, can't. No one he knew had the ability to help spirits move on. They sometimes did on their own, but he didn't know how. " _Go away_ ," he said. And then blinked when the spirit did just that. _Huh_. Well, at least they weren't there to bother him anymore.

"You got rid of them?" Yuzu asked. She squinted, trying to see. "I can't hear them anymore."

"Yeah," Ichigo said, just as curious. "Somehow."

"They'll be back, I bet," Karin muttered. "They never stay away."

"Unfortunately," Ichigo agreed.

Dad looked sad to be left out. Ichigo paid him no mind. Dad was always sad that he couldn't interact with the world that Mom and Ichigo did on a daily basis. Tough luck, because Dad also never expressed any interest in _knowing_ any more than he did by osmosis either.

"I've got homework," Ichigo said after dinner was done. "Thank you for the food." He waited a moment to see whether Yuzu needed help doing dishes.

"Good night, Onii-chan," Yuzu said, allowing Ichigo to head upstairs. "Otou-chan, can you help me with the dishes?"

Ichigo left them to it. Dad was always energetic and willing to help whenever they asked for it. Yuzu just happened to be the only one of them that asked for it. Sad, but Ichigo was used to being self-sufficient. Besides, whatever he needed help with he had Tatsuki, Uryū, Inoue, Chad there.

Halfway through his English homework, Ichigo paused when his immediate sensing area warped.

Then the black butterfly flittered into his room.

It was unlike anything that Ichigo had ever seen. The black wasn't so much as _black_ as it was a _lack of light_ , the inkiness so deep that it looked as if it were absorbing light. His eyes were drawn to that emptiness, unable to look away despite its sheer impossibility. Somehow, delicate purple patterns adorned its wings, giving shape to what was otherwise a black blob. The purple shimmered like thread dipped in dew.

Ichigo blinked and rubbed his eyes. Looking too long _hurt_.

And then a spirit walked through his bedroom wall.

Thankfully, they didn't hurt Ichigo's brain like the butterfly did. But the spirit had been _following_ the butterfly. For what reason, Ichigo couldn't tell. Their clothes were traditional, in almost entirely black. Their _hakama_ were black enough that Ichigo could see the shape of the creases from the light reflected off of them.

The sword, though, was _interesting_.

The spirit didn't acknowledge Ichigo. They kept walking through his room, muttering to themselves. And obviously they were aware; Ichigo had seen spirits that walked aimlessly and unaware of the world around them. This spirit was definitely not one of those. Besides, they were maneuvering through Ichigo's room with ease.

Ichigo frowned and stood up. "Hey, what are you doing?" he asked, wary. Because if they were in his room, then something was up. Especially with that butterfly.

 _His room_. Ichigo refrained from cursing at his ceiling, but it was a near thing. _Dammit_! Ichigo knew that something like this would happen!

The spirit ignored him. Which never happened before. Ichigo would normally be extremely happy about this turn of events, but these weren't normal circumstances. For one, there were wards in place that stopped spirits from just walking in. They had to be brought in by Ichigo, Karin, or Yuzu. This spirit seemed to ignore those.

"Oi!" Ichigo shouted. "I said, _what are you doing_?" And then he kicked the spirit on the backside. They were very small compared to him, about Yuzu's size, so even that sent them sprawling forward.

"What-" the spirit stuttered. They turned to look at him. Wait, no, not at _him_. Around him. What? "What happened?"

"I kicked you," Ichigo said flatly.

"You?" the spirit sat up straight and stared at Ichigo in clear shock. "You can _see_ me?"

"Yes," Ichigo drawled. Where was this spirit from, then, that they hadn't been in contact with anyone that could see them? Ichigo glared and asked again, "What are you doing?"

"You should not be able to see me," the spirit said. They were still _staring_ , and now Ichigo was going from suspicious and irritated to just pissed off.

Ichigo managed to not growl. He did roll his eyes though. "Yeah, yeah, human, whatever. I've heard it before." He hasn't actually. Most spirits tended to accept the fact that he could see them pretty quickly. "I'll ask again. What are you doing?"

"I am a shinigami!" the spirit said. They did recover from their blatant shock remarkably quick. Ichigo, though, immediately hated the shinigami. That _tone_ they used was… well. The spirit made Uryū look humble.

Wait. Bad comparison. Uryū was proud of his heritage, same as Ichigo was. That didn't mean that Uryū thought he was better than anyone else. No matter what he acted like at times. Uryū was not _that_ kind of asshole.

"Really?" Ichigo asked flatly.

"Yes," the spirit- shinigami, apparently- said. "I cam from the Soul Society on a mission to exterminate an evil spirit."

"Okay," Ichigo said. He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. I don't believe you."

"What?" the shinigami asked, visibly dumbfounded.

Ichigo rolled his eyes again. "I have never seen _shinigami_ before. And I've been able to see spirits my entire life. I also tend not to believe anything delusional spirits say. Especially not ones that _trespass_."

"You!" the shinigami shrieked in outrage. Oh, now they looked offended. And with their offense, Ichigo felt the rise in spiritual power. _Oh shit_. "Baukdō, Number One! _Sai_!"

Ichigo felt the shinigami's spiritual energy wrap around him, cool to the touch and chilling Ichigo through. His arms snapped behind him, held together by what felt like invisible rope. His legs were brought together and refused to move. And then Ichigo fell to the ground with a solid _thump_.

Spells. The shinigami had enough spiritual energy to cast _spells_? Different types of spirits had different levels of energy- this, Ichigo had been taught early. But never had Ichigo met a spirit that could cast _spells_ before.

"Do you believe me now?" the shinigami said, smirking. Either Uryū and this spirit would get along infamously or hate each other on sight. Right now, Ichigo was hoping for hate. "Only a shinigami can use such advanced techniques."

 _Advanced my ass_ , Ichigo thought. He was used to binding spells being used on him. Uncle Ryūken had been a vicious taskmaster when he still taught them. Uryū definitely took up the slack now that they were teenagers. Ichigo was almost intimately aware of what binding spells felt like. Familiar with this routine, Ichigo used his spiritual energy to test the shinigami's spell.

Huh. The spell _felt_ week, like twine against his skin. Did they rank their spells with numbers? Number one for a really weak spell? Either way, Ichigo could tell that he would be able to break free with some judicious use of spiritual energy and some plain old brute force.

"Unfortunately, there are Laws in place that prevent me from killing a human without permission," the shinigami said. They pouted as if _not_ killing Ichigo was something that they truly regretted not being able to do. Well. Definitely a strong spirit, then. Stronger spirits tended to have a skewed sense of morality.

Then the shinigami pulled their sword from its sheathe. Ichigo held still, wary, and ready to break free. Just because the shinigami said that they couldn't kill him without breaking some Laws- and he had _heard_ that capitalization- it didn't mean that they couldn't hurt him. And there were a lot of things humans could survive that wouldn't kill them.

But the shinigami wasn't reaching for Ichigo, or even holding their sword blade first. They were reaching, with the hilt, for the pathetic looking spirit still attached to Ichigo. He watched the shinigami press the hilt of their sword against the pathetic spirit's forehead. Ichigo _frowned_ when he saw the sigil appear, glowing against spirit-pale skin. Ichigo was at the wrong angle to see it properly, though he could tell that it was a seal of some sort.

"I…" the spirit stuttered. Tears started forming at the corner of their eyes. "I don't wanna go to hell…"

"You are not going to hell," the shinigami said. Ichigo was more dumbfounded by the fact that the shinigami was capable of smiling kindly then what was currently happening. "I am sending you to Soul Society. It is a peaceful place."

The sigil warped the spirit. Their solid, if squiggly outline, started fading. It was like the spirit was fading from reality, or from Ichigo's vision. Then the sigil started _pulling_ , and like a vacuum, pulled the spirit into it. Because of Ichigo's close proximity to the spirit, it pulled some of his spiritual energy in, too.

The sigil flashed and faded briefly before turning into a black butterfly. Ichigo frowned. It was… otherworldly, and ink-dark, but it was _not_ the same butterfly that had led the shinigami into his room. It didn't hurt his head as much to look at.

The butterfly started flapping its wings and slowly flittered away. Rather than simply heading out the window, like the first butterfly had arrived, it… sparkled. Ichigo really had no other way to describe it. The gossamer of its wings started sparkling like diamonds were impeded into the black. And then it just disappeared.

Ichigo stared. "What was that?" he asked, voice quiet from surprise. Not that he had forgotten his irritation. Ichigo just happened to be good at multi-tasking.

"A Soul Burial," the shinigami said. Ichigo heard the capitals there. The shinigami sheathed their sword again. "It is one of my duties as a shinigami. Humans call it 'moving on' from what I have been able to gather."

"Not all spirits stay around," Ichigo disagreed, almost automatically. And shinigami could _not_ be _grim reapers_. Those things waited by people's bedsides to take their souls after they died. And grim reapers didn't exist, anyways. For one, Ichigo would remember seeing them.

"No, they don't," the shinigami agreed. Then they looked at Ichigo in surprise. "Those that move on immediately after death arrive in Soul Society on their own. Those that stay after death require help. And… those that stay for far too long turn _bad_."

"Bad?" Ichigo echoed. Did they mean _hollows_?

Suddenly, the shinigami sat down on the floor and pulled out a sketchbook and a marker. Ichigo _really_ didn't want to know where those came from. It sure wasn't from their person. A hammer space?

"It is like this," the shinigami said as they started to draw. Ichigo stared in confusion. "There are two types of spirits here in the World of the Living. The first we call _plus_ , which are simply spirits that have yet to move on. They are the ghosts that you normally see. The second we call _minus_ , more commonly known as _hollows_. They are evil spirits that attack both the Living and the Dead to eat their souls."

The shinigami turned their sketchbook to Ichigo.

Ichigo stared for a long moment, because _what the fuck_ was kind of echoing in his head. "…That is a horrible drawing," Ichigo said eventually. Because why not. "Cute, really, but you're using the same symbol for both the _plus_ and the _hollow_. It's only because I'm staring at it for long enough that I can tell them apart."

Karin would be _horrified_. Contrary to how she acted, Karin adored cute things. And this type of art style wasn't good for any kind of presentation. At least, not without some better illustrations. Ichigo could almost hear Karin lecturing about how cute was good, but refusing to expand on it was ruining the effect.

The shinigami stared at Ichigo. They looked somewhere between furious and confused at his explanation. It was actually kind of funny. What, were they only used to people insulting their work? Karin had trained that out of him when she was like, eight.

Of course the shinigami _had_ to draw a fucking mustache on Ichigo's face. The shinigami had the gall to look completely pleased with themselves, too. Ichigo growled as he tried wiping his face on the floor.

"Shinigami have two duties," the shinigami said. They looked regal, as if they hadn't just drawn on Ichigo's face. "The first is the Soul Burial, which you have just seen. The second is to exterminate hollows. That is why I am here in the first place."

Hollows? _Here_?

"Why are you here then? Why haven't you gone to take it out?" Ichigo demanded. He'd have to tell Uryū that there was a hollow in Karakura. It sure as well wasn't anywhere near _here_ ; his mother had set up way too many wards and alarms for that.

The shinigami frowned, and looked both sheepish and pensive. "Because, fool, for some reason I am no longer able to sense it. A strange power has been making it hard for me to sense anything, really."

Wait. Did that mean that Ichigo's household wards were interfering with the shinigami's ability to sense spiritual energy? Strange. The wards usually _extended_ their sensitivity to hollow energy, if only so they could dispatch it before it got too close.

It was then that Ichigo heard the scream. His insides froze. That was a hollow screech. That… should _not_ be _possible_. Ichigo would have _known_ if a hollow got that close!

"…What was that?" Ichigo managed. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" the shinigami asked. They stiffened not a second later. "That was a hollow's scream!" they said, and stood up. "How were you able to hear it before me?"

And then Yuzu _screamed_.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo yelled.

The shinigami sprinted out of the room, drawing their sword as they did. Ichigo did not _care_. His sisters were in danger and scared. Ichigo strained at the spell. It broke quickly, desperation and fury making Ichigo's spiritual energy work faster than it normally would.

"Dammit!" Ichigo swore, an ran after the shinigami. _Yuzu. Karin._

He found Karin at the top of the stairs.

What the absolute _fuck_ , how had Ichigo not _heard_ what was _going on-_

"Ichi-nii?" Karin whispered. She looked up at him, relief in her eyes.

Her side was torn open, blood pooling beneath her.

Ichigo shoved his emotions deep inside and focused on Karin. "Hey," he said and kneeled next to her, unmindful of the blood.

Ichigo placed his hands on her side and gently fed her his spiritual energy. He couldn't heal with his power, nor did Quincy have any particular _healing_ skills, but energy was energy. And Quincy dealt with _blood_. Karin took the energy and her bleeding slowed, just like Mom taught Ichigo and Ichigo taught the twins. It wouldn't last long, but it would keep Karin stable until they could get proper medical attention. Dad would know what to do.

"So-something attacked us," Karin said. "It was… invisible. I couldn't see it! And then. It attacked Yuzu and Da-ad. I ca-came to get you."

"Shh," Ichigo said soothingly, combing his fingers through her hair. "I'll deal with it, okay?"

"Okay," Karin said. She closed her eyes, though he could tell she wasn't falling unconscious. Karin was too stubborn for that. "The spirit with the sword ran downstairs."

"Okay," Ichigo said. He made sure that she was stable before he ran downstairs.

Ichigo… didn't have his bow with him. Well, shit, _good going, Ichigo_. He would be fine, though. He _had_ to be fine. There was no other option. Ichigo had his fists and his feet and whatever was lying around downstairs. Nothing in the house was as useful as their spiritual weapons, but everything had existed in the same space as three spiritually aware beings. That would help.

Dad was unconscious, slumped against the wall. There was a hole on the side of the building. Thankfully, it was along their living room wall rather than the clinic. They'd have to replace _so much_ stuff if it were the clinic.

Ichigo looked Dad over, and only found a lump on the back of his head. Probably from when he hit the wall, then. There were scrapes along his arms, but Ichigo remembered those from their brawl earlier. Nothing to worry about, then. Ichigo would normally worry about a concussion, but Dad was tough.

Ichigo looked up when a shadow was cast over the floor.

 _Hollow_.

The first thing that Ichigo saw was the bone white of the spirit. The second was its sheer size, as it was larger than any hollow Ichigo had ever seen before. It was easily twice his eight, even slumped over as it was.

And then Ichigo noticed that it was holding onto Yuzu.

There was a baseball bat in his hands. Ichigo rushed forwards before registering it. He brought the baseball bat around and hit the hollow in the side. It grunted in pain but didn't let go. A large hand threw Ichigo backwards. He watched as that same hand came forward in an attempt to bury him. He scrambled to get up. Before Ichigo could move away, the shinigami came.

They brought their sword around and deflected the attack. _Where had they been_ , Ichigo thought hazily. Another movement cut everything below the elbow off. It didn't bleed, but the hollow roared in pain.

The hollow dropped Yuzu. Ichigo managed to catch her. He scrambled away with her in his arms from where the shinigami and hollow were fighting. Ichigo carefully placed Yuzu on the ground. She would be fine this far away, and he didn't want to jostle her too much. Ichigo pressed a hand to her cheek. He closed his eyes and _felt_ poking at Yuzu's _reiryoku_ with his own spiritual energy. He sighed in relief when he felt nothing wrong. Yuzu was just unconscious, then.

Hollows went after people with strong spiritual energy. When Ichigo's mother realized that Ichigo literally had almost no control over his spiritual power, she had placed wards so that the energy would be dispersed evenly into the air. Ichigo and Uryū added onto it after Mom died and the twins started radiating their own spiritual energy. The wards didn't work a set distance from the house, but it was the best that they could do. They had even set wards around all of the schools, copied from what Mom did to their house.

Ichigo didn't know why the wards didn't warn him that a hollow was nearby. That didn't matter, now. There was a hollow here _now_ , and it had attacked Ichigo's _family_. It needed to die.

The baseball bat was just a regular baseball bat. But Ichigo was _Kurosaki_ , and he knew how to make any weapon work for him. If he had is _bow_ , he would have been able to kill the hollow in one hit.

Ichigo didn't have his bow. He had his baseball bat, and he had his spiritual energy.

The shinigami was facing Ichigo. They looked concerned for Yuzu. Before Ichigo could run ahead, he saw the hollow's arm grow back.

 _What_?

"Look out!" Ichigo shouted. The shinigami wasn't paying attention. _Why weren't they paying attention?_

The hollow smacked the shinigami aside, and they hit the wall with a resounding _thud_. The force was actually enough to crack the concrete. Ichigo winced with sympathy.

Ichigo frowned, and shifted to move. He ran forward and brought the baseball bat _up_. It hit the underside of the hollow's arm with a loud crack. The bat broke, split where it had hit the hollow. The hollow roared in pain. Ichigo smirked before the other arm came around and smacked _him_ backwards.

Ichigo spun on the road, felt his arms scrape, but he managed to twist himself upright. His shoes skidded against the road, and slid several feet before he came to a stop in front of Yuzu. She was awake now, and watched him blearily.

"Onii-chan?" Yuzu whispered.

"Hey," Ichigo replied. He smiled as comfortingly as he could. Despite, you know, the hollow still roaring.

Ichigo could tell that the hollow was getting ready to charge at him. Ichigo refused to move, and he wasn't running. Not with Yuzu behind him and Karin and Dad in the clinic. Ichigo might die, but he would _never_ let anything happen to his family.

Ichigo brought up the broken handle of the baseball bat. It was next to useless now, but any weapon was better than none. And the sharp edge of shattered wood would make a good point. Ichigo grinned and crouched as he filled the wood with his spiritual energy. There was no fucking way that he would die without a fight.

"You… want my soul, right?" Ichigo said when the hollow was standing above him. He saw it lick what passed for its lips. "Then _try to fucking take it_!"

The hollow lunged forward. Ichigo steadied his grip around the baseball bat's handle, and felt his spiritual energy rise against the threat. Would it be enough? _Who knows_ , but like hell if Ichigo wasn't trying.

The hollow's mouth widened as it prepared to eat Ichigo. He lifted the handle, sharp end first, ready to punch it through the roof of the hollow's mouth the moment it was close enough. Ichigo might lose an arm in the process, but he could deal with that after.

The hollow wrapped around a body.

It wasn't Ichigo.

It was the shinigami.

Ichigo watched, wide eyed, as the shinigami _allowed themselves_ to be bitten in place of Ichigo. The hollow fell backwards, clearly not expecting it. Ichigo sure as hell didn't. It retreated slightly, giving Ichigo and the shinigami some space.

"You! Why-" Ichigo started.

"You idiot," the shinigami rasped. They stared Ichigo in the eye. Then they fell to the ground, blood pooling around their body. _Wait_. When were spirits able to bleed? "Do you think that _your_ power was enough to defeat it?"

Ichigo refrained from snorting. He wasn't about to explain that if he had his own, then yes, Ichigo definitely would have been able to defeat it. Even his broken baseball bat would have worked, if at risk to himself. "I'm sorry," Ichigo said instead. Because the shinigami had taken a blow meant for _him_.

"Do not worry about it," the shinigami said. They managed to prop themselves on their forearms. Wow, they were tough. Ichigo would have passed out from blood loss by now. "Unfortunately, I am unable to fight."

"Wait, wait," Ichigo said. He glanced at Yuzu, who even half-unconscious smiled at him. Even like this she knew exactly what Ichigo wanted to do. "Here, let me-" Ichigo started, and kneeled next to the shinigami. Probably a bad idea when the hollow was only taking a breather, but whatever.

"All we can do now… is wait. Until we become its food," the shinigami said. They smiled reassuringly at Ichigo, like _that_ was perfectly okay.

 _What the fuck_.

Ichigo snarled at the shinigami. He placed his hands on either side of their wounds, and _poked_. Probably not as gently as he should have, but Ichigo was too irritated to _care_ at the moment. Like he expected, their spiritual energies were too different for this to really work. Ichigo wasn't much of a healer, anyways. But like _hell_ he'd let the shinigami just _give up_.

That kind of shit always pissed him off!

The shinigami looked at Ichigo as he tried his best to transfer his spiritual energy over. They probably didn't even register what he was doing. They probably thought that Ichigo was just trying in his weak human way to stop their bleeding. Let them think that. At least Ichigo was _doing_ something!

"Do you," the shinigami breathed lightly, "want to save your family?"

"Is that even a _fucking question_?" Ichigo demanded, and then registered what the shinigami was actually asking. "Wait. There's a way for me to fight? Tell me!"

The shinigami turned themselves over, and managed to sit up. Blood still dripped from their side. At least Ichigo's rudimentary energy transfer worked. Somewhat. They turned their attention to the hollow, which was still backed up. Anticipatory.

"There is a way," the shinigami started. They shook their head slightly, and then immediately appeared to regret the motion. "Or, perhaps, there is _only_ one way."

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"You," the shinigami said. They swung their sword around so that the tip was sitting over Ichigo's chest. He flinched slightly at the motion, as telegraphed as it was. "Become a _shinigami_."

"What," Ichigo said. Because seriously. _What the fuck_?

"Your heart is the center of your spiritual energy," the shinigami explained. As if that was what Ichigo was questioning in the first place. "If you pierce your heart with this _zanpakutō_ , then I can transfer half of my power to you. And with the temporary power of a shinigami, you will have the power to fight the hollow."

Ichigo could kill the damned thing _without_ shinigami powers, thank you. But he absolutely did not have time to go and fetch his bow. But to _transfer_ your power…?

"Is it really okay to do something like this?" Ichigo asked. He eyed the hollow, which looked ready to attack again.

"I do not know," the shinigami admitted. Wow, that was _very_ convincing. "And the percentage of success is nowhere near close to one hundred percent. Still, it is the only way! And there is no time for second guessing!"

"Onii-chan," Yuzu whispered from behind them. Ichigo turned to her. She stared at him, eyes blurry. She was terrible at seeing spirits, but she could hear them just fine. "Onii-chan, you have to… run…"

To get his bow? Ichigo could. To get help? Yeah, Uryū and Uncle Ryūken would be able to help. But Ichigo simply didn't have the _time_. Now would he leave Yuzu behind.

And why was Yuzu worrying about _Ichigo_ when she was the one injured? Karin, too, since she dragged herself upstairs to find him. Why? Ichigo was _their_ older brother. It was _his_ job to look after them.

Ha. Made him look stupid, hesitating like this.

"Shinigami!" Ichigo said, "Give me that sword of yours. Nothing's going to happen if we don't at least _try_."

The shinigami looked up at him. They leaned against the wall. They smiled and it was… kind. Honest. "It's not 'shinigami'. My name is Kuchiki Rukia."

Ichigo stared, momentarily startled by them. Then he smiled too. "I see. Well, then, Rukia. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. Let's hope that this isn't our last meeting, yeah?"

The hollow roared.

"Hurry! It's coming!" Rukia said.

They held out their sword, point aimed just above Ichigo's heart. Ichigo wrapped his hands around the hilt, pinky fingers touching Rukia's. Even like this, the tip of the blade didn't touch Ichigo's skin. The sword- the zanpakutō- had a short blade, fitting the person that wielded it.

The hollow continued to roar.

Ichigo and Rukia stared at each other. Ichigo was going to be stabbed. Rukia was going to stab him Something like this would normally kill Ichigo. He figured that they both needed a moment to prepare themselves. Ichigo kept in mind his family. His sisters.

"Let's do this," Ichigo said.

"Yeah," Rukia agreed.

The hollow started charging.

Ichigo pulled the sword, and Rukia pushed, and then-

There was a sword in his chest.

It was in that brief moment that Ichigo catalogued several different things. Blood that welled up around the sword entrance and exit. Rukia's shocked face, as if they were surprised that they actually stabbed him. The small scrape along the back of his left hand. The tender bruises along his forearms, and a hip. The smell of dinner that still hung lightly in the air. The dust that permeated the area casting a faint haze over everything. The ethereal glow as the setting sun cast long shadows and turned the clouds a startling shade of red.

A second later, it felt as if his chest were on fire. Ichigo figured that was to be expected with the whole _sword in chest_ thing.

And then-

Ichigo felt his spiritual energy _surge_. It poured outwards with no direction, blanketing the surrounding area. It felt like it was being _pulled_ outwards. His heart started beating wildly, somehow, around the sword in his chest. Ichigo could hear his pulse.

A foreign spiritual energy surrounded Ichigo, like a blanket, that did nothing to reign in his own spiritual energy. Distantly, he heard someone scream. In pain, in sorrow, and in confusion. Mostly pain. _I feel you_.

Rukia? Ichigo knew that this was Rukia, somehow. Strange that he hadn't recognized their spiritual energy immediately, with the whole sword in chest thing going on. It was to be expected, Ichigo supposed. He didn't have the strongest recognition for spiritual energy in the first place.

And then-

Rukia's spiritual energy was gone, suppressed by his own. Ichigo's spiritual power flooded forth, and bursted around him in a blast of concentrated energy. _Ha_. Uryū was going to throw a fit.

As Ichigo's spiritual energy poured outwards, the pain disappeared. So did the feeling of a sword in his chest. And then Ichigo's spiritual energy _shifted_ , and felt unlike anything that Ichigo had ever felt before. More than he had ever _used_ before. Was this really Ichigo's power? He never realized-

Ichigo felt his energy wrap around him, like he was submerged in water. It tugged, and Ichigo felt his clothes change. It was instantaneous; Ichigo was in his school uniform, and then he was not. He was dressed in something entirely new. Ichigo couldn't help but feel like a magical girl.

 _I hope it's not too frilly_ , Ichigo thought somewhat hysterically.

The spiritual energy that surrounded him started to dissipate. Ichigo felt something _settle_ along his back, a new weight that wasn't there before. Ichigo reached up to find- _huh_? A sword? Why a sword? Ichigo didn't even know how to _use_ a sword…

Rukia? Rukia had said that stabbing him would give him shinigami powers. Were their powers tied to their swords? Or was it just Rukia, since they had specifically lent him _their_ power?

Well. No matter. It was a weapon. And it could channel spiritual energy.

 _Good_. Ichigo grinned. Probably with too many teeth.

Ichigo could _see_ the hollow. And he didn't know how to explain the difference, from before. He had always _seen_ hollows, but not like this. It's like a filter has been lifted from his sight, or added. The hollow looked like it was moving in slow motion. Ichigo lifted the sword off of his back, and held it in front of him. Part of him wondered at how easy that had been. The sword- zanpakutō?- was as long as Ichigo was tall.

Ichigo felt his energy being absorbed into the blade, less like a drain and more like a sponge. The blade started glowing. _Nice_. A video game tutorial in real life! Ichigo followed exactly what he felt the zanpakutō was telling him to do. It was… easy, to swing it in an arc. The energy gathered by the blade followed that arc, and shot forward like a projectile. It wasn't as fast as an arrow, but it was quick enough. It cut clean through the hollow's arm.

It was easy, after that, to kill the hollow. Wielding a sword this size felt kind of incredible, actually. Even if Ichigo knew that he swung it around with no control and no skill whatsoever.

Whatever. It wasn't as Ichigo were going to be using the zanpakutō after this. As long as he killed this hollow and protected his family, Ichigo was perfectly fine with swinging it around like an oversized baseball bat.

One cut, still overcharged with the energy from Ichigo's magical girl transformation, and the hollow split in half. _Nice_. Ichigo would have to see if he could replicate this attack with his bow, somehow.

Even as the spiritual energy started to settle, Ichigo staggered in place.

Oh.

 _Well, shit_. Of course Ichigo would faint.

He had just used a new and unknown technique in battle. No practice beforehand to test how it worked and what its immediate limitations were. Ichigo remembered how many time he had exhausted himself when he first tried to create a bow. It took hours of practice before he could hold a bow steady without fainting.

"Good job," Rukia said quietly from behind Ichigo. She sounded tired.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied absentmindedly. He blinked, and through the sludge that his brain was becoming, decided that getting closer to the ground while he could still move was a good idea. Face planting didn't sound fun. Ichigo had face planted before.

He was just on his knees when he lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ichigo runs. He grabs the baseball bat on his way downstairs. There is no way that he is letting anything happen to his family!_

 _Ichigo is too late._

 _He sees them, his family. They are bloody and on the ground. Karin is staring lifelessly at the wall, her wounds fatal. Yuzu's forehead is cut deeply to the bone, and blood pools around her head. Dad is slouched against the wall, side torn open and legs bent wrongly._

 _Ichigo stares and drops the baseball bat. He can not move. He is frozen to the spot._

 _Ichigo says, "No," voice weak. He desperately wishes that this is not happening._

 _Ichigo blinks. The bodies are gone._

" _Onii-chan," Yuzu says from behind him._

 _Ichigo whirls around, eyes wide. His family is there now. Yuzu, with blood still dripping down her chin. Karin, with a rib visible on her side. Dad, who stands on two broken legs and organs dragging down._

 _They are all staring at Ichigo._

" _Onii-chan, why didn't you save us?" Yuzu asks._

" _Ichi-nii, it's your fault we died," Karin says._

" _You really are a worthless child," Dad says._

 _Ichigo shakes his head. "No. No, I didn't mean to!"_

" _It's your fault," Yuzu accuses him. Her face twists into something angry._

 _Ichigo shuts his eyes. He presses his hands over his ears. This is not real. This_ can not _be real!_

" _You didn't even try," Karin says._

" _Go away," Ichigo whispers. He can still hear them clearly. Like his hands aren't there. The voices are like a stereo in his mind._

" _Your mother would be disappointed," Dad says._

" _No," Ichigo says, "No!" he repeats, louder._

No, she would not!

 _Ichigo knows his mother. She would never! She loves him! She loves her family! She would rather die! She chose to-_

 _The voices stop._

 _Ichigo warily opens his eyes. His family is still there. They are all still staring at Ichigo. But they are silent, and they are not moving. They look like statues now. Caricatures of what they were like previously. Ichigo lifts his hands from his ears. His family crumples to the ground as he does so, like puppets with their strings cut. They are still dead. Ichigo wants to cry._

 _Ichigo still can't move. He wants to go to them. Wants to hold his sisters close. Wants his mother._

 _Ichigo starts crying. Shadows move around him, pressing closer and closer. The shadows aren't scary, so Ichigo doesn't bother to be scared. Nothing is worse than the scene in front of him anyways._

" _Onii-chan!" Yuzu shouts._

 _Yuzu?_

 _Ichigo looks around. Yuzu's body is still there, broken, on the ground. But if she is still able to talk, then her spirit must still be around. Will she still hate him? Ichigo doesn't know what he'll do if Yuzu still hates him._

" _Onii-chan!" Yuzu shouts again._

 _Something wraps around Ichigo's shoulders, warm and comfortable. Like this, Ichigo feels like he can face Yuzu. Just a little bit. That pressure remains constant even as Ichigo continues to search the room._

 _If Yuzu is here, then maybe Karin and Dad will be here too? Will they accept Ichigo's apology? For not being able to save them? Ichigo hopes so._

 _Something hits Ichigo's shoulder. It's a different sort of pressure than the warm one._

" _Onii-chan!" Yuzu shouts. She sounds closer than before. Is she looking for Ichigo just like he's looking for her?_

 _There is another hit against his shoulder. It feels like he's being punched. Ichigo frowns and looks around and-_

Ichigo woke up.

Yuzu stood over him, frowning. She wasn't hurt. _She wasn't hurt_. Ichigo breathed deeply in relief.

"Onii-chan, if you don't get up now, you'll be late for school!" Yuzu said.

"Yuzu?" Ichigo asked. He blinked up at her. He didn't cry, but he sure felt like it.

"Onii-chan?" Yuzu said. She frowned in worry. "Are you okay?"

Ichigo sat up. "Yeah. Just a nightmare," he assured her. He made sure to pat Yuzu's hair. Physical contact with his sisters always made him feel better. "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."

Yuzu didn't look like she believed him. "Okay. But Onii-chan, you still have to get up."

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "Getting up now."

"Okay," Yuzu said. She nodded firmly at him. Ichigo figured that he'd be in trouble if he didn't get ready now. Yuzu still looked worried as she left his bedroom.

Ichigo sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. He was okay. He wasn't lying. That nightmare, though. It still rattled him. He'd fell better when he saw both of his sisters together.

Ichigo climbed out of bed. He felt sore, for some reason. There was an ache in his chest, as if he had indigestion. Which was weird, since Ichigo hadn't eaten anything out of the ordinary last night. So why-

 _Rukia_.

Ichigo swore under his breath and almost tripped over his pajama pants. He got dressed quickly and didn't bother washing his face. Getting downstairs was more important.

"Yuzu! Karin!" Ichigo called. He stopped at the foot of the stairs. There was a giant hole in the wall. It had been boarded up, but that didn't change the fact that there was a _giant hole in the wall_.

Well. At least that was physical proof that Ichigo _hadn't_ hallucinated last night.

"Morning, Ichi-nii," Karin said. She looked at him, worried, even as she continued to eat her breakfast. "It's weird that I'm up before you."

"Yeah," Ichigo said. Because seriously, Karin was _never_ up before him. She liked her sleep more than anyone else he knew. The strangeness of the morning continued to hit him.

"Here, Onii-chan," Yuzu said. She shooed him to sit at the dining table. "You have enough time to eat breakfast, still."

"…Why is there a hole in the wall?" Ichigo asked as he sat down at the table. He absently took the food Yuzu handed him. Ichigo knew, but his sisters were acting as if they _hadn't_ been attacked by a hollow. Which. _What_?

"Oh, the weirdest thing!" Yuzu said brightly. She sat down at her own seat when Ichigo dutifully started eating. "A truck crashed through our wall last night. And none of us woke up at all!"

"Yeah. Lucky someone came by and covered it up," Karin said, "Goat-Face is just really happy it didn't hit the clinic."

Ichigo stared at them incredulously. "A truck?" he asked. No, definitely not. It was the hollow. Wasn't it? Ichigo rubbed at his eyes, and wondered if last night really was just a terrible dream. His sisters didn't look hurt whatsoever, either.

No. It couldn't have been. The blood had been too real.

"Onii-chan?" Yuzu asked. She and Karin were looking at him now. "Onii-chan, it wasn't a truck, was it?"

Ichigo shook his head. "…I'm just confused. I remember what happened las night. But… neither of you do? Does Dad?"

"Goat-Face thought it was a truck, just like we did," Karin said.

"Well, shit," Ichigo said, "I don't know why you _don't_ remember. Dammit."

"You're not going to tell us?" Karin asked. Both she and Yuzu looked worried. Not that Ichigo could blame them. Having their memories tampered with was something to be worried about.

"No. I definitely will," Ichigo promised. His sisters relaxed. "After school, though. I need to talk to Uryū about it."

"What about Onee-chan?" Yuzu asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "She was at Inoue's last night, so she won't know if she went straight to school with her."

"Good," Yuzu said.

"You'll be good to get to school on your own?" Ichigo asked. He had homeroom duties today, so he needed to get there earlier than normal. It was probably why Yuzu felt the need to punch him to wake him up. He also didn't walk the twins to school.

"We'll be fine," Karin said and rolled her eyes. "Go. We'll see you after school."

"Bye, Onii-chan! Have a good day at school!" Yuzu said.

"Yeah. See you later!" Ichigo said.

The jog to school was quiet. There were a few different groups of thugs that recognized Ichigo and looked ready for a fight, but Ichigo ignored them. It wasn't like they'd catch up to him, or slow him down, anyway.

"Oh, morning Kurosaki," one of his classmates said. Ichigo nodded at them but decided not to speak. He had no idea what their name was. Ichigo _supposed_ he should try working on that, but his classmates were used to it. Besides, he had the sneaking suspicion that they all saw what he and his friends got up to and decided that having their names memorized would be too much trouble.

Their morning routine was simple enough to help Ichigo relax. He needed the calm. The others would all know something was up the moment they saw him. Uryū would have felt him last night, even if he hadn't called or texted Ichigo. And he would likely be marinating in his worry. Ichigo simply didn't want to alarm his classmates. Or his teachers.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, Ichigo," Tatsuki said.

Their faces went from tired to worried the moment they saw Ichigo. Tatsuki, especially, was geared up for a fight. _Ha_. Tatsuki was as protective as she ever was, even if ichigo wasn't the crybaby he was when they first met.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asked, brow furrowed. Tatsuki matched her frown.

Ichigo shook his head. "Later."

Tatsuki stared at him for a long second before nodding. "At lunch, then."

Uryū came in a minute later. "What happened?" he asked flatly by way of greeting. His fingers twitched as if he wanted to draw his bow. Ichigo bit his tongue.

"Later," Tatsuki said. She always did know when Ichigo didn't feel like talking. "We'll _all_ talk at lunch."

Uryū nodded slowly. He did not look pleased. Not that Ichigo could blame him, really.

Chad came in soon after. He didn't say anything, but he did look at Ichigo worriedly when he caught sight of him.

Ha. Was Ichigo that obvious? To these people, probably. They knew him better than he knew himself. At least Ichigo wasn't obvious to the _rest_ of his classmates. Hopefully.

And then Rukia came in the door. Ichigo sat up immediately and stared at them.

"Hello!" Rukia greeted the classroom cheerfully, smiling. "I'm Kuchiki Rukia. I'm a new student!"

Wait.

 _Everyone_ could see them. When did that happen? How was that possible? Rukia was a _spirit_. Only Ichigo and Uryū should be able to see them.

"Good morning!" Inoue greeted. She bounced excitedly to the front of the class to meet Rukia. Inoue was always excited to meet new people. Ichigo could tell that she was keeping an eye on them, though. Inoue was a lot more perceptive than people gave her credit for.

Ichigo watched as his classmates all gathered around Rukia. The classroom got loud as they all talked excitedly with each other. They hadn't had a transfer student since they started high school, and a new feminine person was bound to catch everyone's interest. Especially since Rukia was so petite; they all thought she was cute.

"Ichigo," Tatsuki said lowly, and slowly, "Who is that?"

"…Someone I met last night," Ichigo said. He was _confused_. "And part of what I need to talk to you about."

Uryū frowned, wary and contemplative. "Is that so?"

"Oh, hello," Rukia said brightly when they walked to Ichigo's desk. There was an empty desk next to him, so it made sense that they would sit there. Rukia held out their hand, palm up, as if expecting to be handed something. "Nice to meet you!"

 _Tell anyone and I will kill you._

Ichigo stared at their hand, and then back up to Rukia. "Nice to meet you too," he said flatly.

Like hell he wasn't going to tell the others. Rukia would just have to _deal_ with it. Ichigo hadn't lied to his friends and family before, and there was no way in hell was going to start _now_. Not for any reason.

"Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asked. Ah. She likely saw Ichigo's reaction. "Do you need textbooks? I noticed that you don't have any supplies."

Rukia folded their hand back and smiled at Inoue. "Yes. I am sorry. My transfer was unfortunately somewhat last minute. I was incredibly lucky to get a uniform before I arrived!"

Inoue distracted Rukia. Ichigo sighed in relief. Inoue was too kind for her own good, sometimes. Not that he was _complaining_.

"Ichigo," Uryū said. He stared at Rukia with an inscrutable expression. Well, at the very least Ichigo could tell that Uryū was irritated.

Ichigo shook his head. "Later."

Tatsuki frowned. "They're going to be a problem, aren't they?"

"Likely," Chad rumbled. He rarely _disliked_ anyone, but there were people that Chad simply didn't like dealing with.

"Later." Ichigo repeated.

Later came both too fast and incredibly slowly. Rukia was a terrible student, really. They looked like they were barely even paying attention. Even as he kept an eye on them, Ichigo refused to let yesterday affect his grades and took notes as usual. His friends, despite being worried, did the same.

School was usually a great distraction. Today, not so much. Every minute seemed to take forever. Even doodling in his notes didn't help time pass. Not that Ichigo _really_ wanted to deal with what was coming after. He didn't lie to his friends, but that didn't make the conversations any easier.

Lunch did come eventually though.

"Ichigo-san?" Mizuiro asked. He frowned at him. Mizuiro was just as observant as Ichigo's closest friends, but probably for all the wrong reasons. Mizuiro just happened to be quieter. It wasn't surprising that he sensed that something was wrong.

"Ichigo!" Keigo yelled, and ran to jump on Ichigo. Ichigo sighed and dodged the tackle before he kicked Keigo to the ground.

Ichigo glanced between Mizuiro and Keigo and shrugged. They weren't as close to Ichigo as the others, but they were still his friends. "You two might as well both come."

"What are you doing?" Rukia asked. She looked curious.

They were a pretty good actor. Ichigo had to give them that. It was just that no one in Ichigo's group of friends tolerated liars. Even Mizuiro, who lied like it was his life blood, was truthful around them. Or rather, he just didn't _speak_. At least not without a heavy layer of sarcasm.

Rukia seemed to understand that and they frowned at Ichigo.

"We're going to lunch, Kuchiki-san!" Inoue said, "Why don't you come with us?"

Thank the gods for Inoue. She was the best suited out of all of them for dealing with other people. Everyone else was either too blunt, too straightforward, or just didn't have any patience or kindness. Or, in Chad's case, simply didn't speak often enough.

"Um, okay," Rukia agreed. They fidgeted in place. "If that's not a problem." They glanced at Ichigo warily. And somewhat threatening, too, if that look in their eyes was any indication.

Ichigo snorted. Yeah, good luck getting him _not_ to say anything. He led the group through the school and up to the roof. It was their usual spot, and although other students sometimes went up there, their section was always free. It helped that Ichigo and Uryū had placed minor privacy. It wouldn't do any of them good if strangers overheard what they tended to talk about. Ichigo and his friends were just odd enough for them to believe it outright.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" Tatsuki demanded as soon as they sat down. "I spend _one_ night away from home and something happens?"

"Is this what you were worried about yesterday?" Inoue asked.

"Are you okay?" Chad asked.

"And who is _this_?" Uryū demanded.

Ichigo sighed. "Okay. First of all, a hollow attacked my house last night."

Silence.

"What." Uryū said. His voice was flat. Wow! Ichigo gave that a solid nine. Impressive, considering it also conveyed how shocked, worried, _and_ angry Uryū was on Ichigo's behalf. "That should _not_ have been possible!"

"Is everyone okay?" Tatsuki demanded. She leaned forward. "How are Yuzu and Karin? Your dad?"

"Are _you_ okay, Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asked, Chad nodding along behind her.

Mizuiro and Keigo were silent. They were the two that were the most unfamiliar with spirits in general. Still, since they were Ichigo's friends, they had interactions with hollows. Being around Ichigo tended to make people more likely to learn about spirits than not.

"They're _fine_ ," Ichigo assured quickly. "I'm fine. I don't know _how_ , though. They were all hurt last night. But I woke up, and they… weren't." Not that Ichigo was complaining about that. Ichigo would never complain about the safety and health of his sisters. And he determinedly did not think about that nightmare.

Uryū frowned. "How was the hollow able to sneak up on you?" he asked.

Ichigo looked at him, completely clueless. "I have absolutely _no idea_. Our wards were _broken_ last night." Which was both horrifying and worrying. And half the reason that Ichigo had simply _panicked_ when he heard the hollow.

"I'll head over after school to check on them," Uryū promised, looking as uneasy as Ichigo felt.

"But everyone is okay?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said, "There's a hole in our wall, though."

"Is the clinic okay?" Inoue asked. She looked worried- oh, yeah. Inoue occasionally volunteered at the clinic.

"The clinic is fine too," Ichigo assured.

"What are you _doing_?" Rukia hissed. They looked at Ichigo angrily. Rukia turned wary when the others all stared at them in return, but Rukia held their ground. Huh, pretty awesome, actually. Ichigo knew others that would quail under their combined gaze. "You're not supposed to tell them anything!"

Wow. After they had decided to give Ichigo an impromptu lesson on _pluses_ and _minuses_ last night while Ichigo was tied up. Surely the hypocrisy was obvious? Maybe it was too obvious? Sometimes Ichigo couldn't see what was right in front of his face, either.

"What." Uryū said icily. He looked seconds away from shooting Rukia. Hm. Ichigo should probably make sure that Uryū didn't. Ichigo owed Rukia for helping him save his family. "Were you doing at Ichigo's home last night?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, "You did something to my family. They don't _remember_ what happened! They thought a truck drove through the wall."

"…And the truck driver just upped and drove away?" Tatsuki asked incredulously.

Ichigo shrugged. "If it weren't for that, I'd have thought it was all just a nightmare. Kind of wished it were one."

"It _sounds_ like one," Tatsuki said.

"Ichigo!" Rukia snapped. They stared angrily him. "I said. Do. Not. Tell. Anyone!"

"And why should I listen to you?" Ichigo demanded. "Look, I am _grateful_ for what you did. There's no way I can repay you for that. But that doesn't mean that you're going to get me to _lie_! Not to my friends, and definitely not to my _family_."

"What _did_ you do, Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asked curiously. She rubbed her hands together and her brow furrowed worriedly. Huh. Apparently Inoue was already fond of Rukia, if she was trying to mediate between them.

"They saved me. And my family," Ichigo said. He sighed. "And probably healed them, too." Because his sisters weren't hurt. Neither was his father, apparently. And Ichigo would forever be thankful for that.

Rukia frowned. "They? I am a woman, fool."

" _She_ saved my family," Ichigo repeated. Well, that saved him the trouble of asking for pronouns.

"What did you do?" Uryū asked again. His tone was stilly icy. At least he seemed willing to refrain from shooting Rukia. Yet?

"She gave me her power," Ichigo said, "I had a _sword_. It was _weird_."

"…A sword?" Uryū asked. He looked at Ichigo oddly. "What _is_ Kuchiki-san, then?" he asked.

"I am right here," Rukia said. She fidgeted when they all looked at her again.

Rukia probably didn't expect them to know _anything_ about spirits. Probably that ridiculous pride she had in being a shinigami. Which, yes, after last night Ichigo understood that being a shinigami was a good thing. But that kind of pride was dangerous. It made people blind.

"She's a shinigami," Ichigo said.

There was a silence as the others tried to comprehend that. Ichigo didn't blame them. Even with spirits, _shinigami_ seemed a bit out there.

" _Shinigami_?" Uryū demanded, voice shrill. "You're a shinigami? You have _Ichigo_ the powers of a _shinigami_?!"

That was… unexpected. Ichigo stared at Uryū, who looked odd. Uryū looked like he couldn't decide whether or not to be angry or surprised.

"…Yes," Rukia said evenly after a moment. She blinked at Uryū. "It was the only way to save him and his family from the hollow. It was only supposed to be _half_ of my power, of course, and temporary. But…"

"Ichigo. Has shinigami powers," Uryū repeated faintly. He stared at Rukia for a long moment. And then, in a smooth motion, Uryū stood and drew his bow. He aimed a glowing arrow at Rukia.

Well then. Ichigo would be lying if he hadn't thought this _might_ happen, if not for this particular reason. Ichigo stood and grabbed Uryū's wrist, ready to pull the shot so that it would go wide. If aimed at a specific person, Uryū's arrows dissipated when they missed rather than continuing on their trajectory. Uryū glared at Ichigo. He trembled with the force of his fury.

Ichigo had never seen Uryū like this before. Uryū's rage was generally the icy kind, where anyone that made him angry was destroyed before registering it. Before realizing that they had made Uryū angry in the first place. This fury was more like Ichigo and Tatsuki's anger, which burnt hot and impulsively.

"Uryū?" Ichigo asked quietly. He turned so that Rukia couldn't see Uryū. She didn't need to see this. The others really didn't, either, but at least he trusted them. Rukia had no place in this at all.

Uryū closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and released his bow. The spiritual energy faded into the air. Ichigo let go of Uryū's wrist cautiously. Uryū didn't look at Ichigo as he left the roof, leaving behind his lunch.

Ichigo turned around to the worried faces of his friends. Even Rukia seemed concerned, though she also looked confused.

 _Huh_. Apparently shinigami had never heard of Quincy the same way that Ichigo had never heard of shinigami.

Uryū had, though. That kind of rage did not come from _nowhere_. Ichigo frowned as he checked where Uryū went. Ichigo wasn't as good of a sensor as Uryū, or even Rukia, but Ichigo _knew_ Uryū. It seemed that he had simply left school. Ichigo would have to talk with him later.

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked. She stared after Uryū. Tatsuki couldn't see spirits, but she was intimately familiar with how Ichigo and Uryū looked when they created their bows. "What the hell just happened?"

"I honestly have no idea," Ichigo told her. "I'll talk to him later." After Uryū had time to calm down.

"Kuchiki-san," Inoue said into the silence. It wasn't quite awkward, but it wasn't comfortable either. "What are shinigami?"

Rukia shook her head. She started to look resigned to the fact that Ichigo wasn't going to lie to the others. Good. Rukia had best figure that out sooner than later.

"Shinigami are exceptionally strong spirits," Rukia said, "we are in charge of keeping balance by way of two tasks. One, we make sure that spirits move on to Soul Society. Two, we purify hollows."

Well, _that_ was a simpler and easier to understand explanation than the one Ichigo had gotten last night. Then again, it did sound like a rather automatic answer. Rukia was probably still shocked by having an arrow pointed at her chest.

"And you gave Ichigo your power?" Tatsuki asked. She was confused. Ichigo understood. They had grown up with the knowledge that spiritual awareness was hereditary, or at the very least, gotten young. There was no explanation of a transference of power.

"Yes," Rukia said. She inclined her head. "Unfortunately, Ichigo's spiritual energy was more than I had anticipated. I had intended on only giving him half of my power. Instead, he took all of it."

"How can we see you?" Chad asked.

"Yeah!" Inoue said, as the group made exclamations of realization that, yes, none of them should be able to see Rukia. "None of us have any spiritual energy."

"That is because I am wearing a _gigai_ ," Rukia said, "It is confining, but it will help me as I regain my power. And it lets me be seen by humans."

"I took all of your power?" Ichigo asked. He frowned. "I didn't mean to."

Because that sounded absolutely _terrible_. Ichigo was born with his spiritual energy, but he was still _human_. He still had a life outside what he did with that energy. Rukia was a spirit. Her entire existence depended on her spiritual energy, and Ichigo had taken it _all_.

Rukia shook her head. "It is fine, Ichigo. Even without my shinigami power, I am still a spirit. There are still things that I can do."

"You help spirits move on," Tatsuki said, "How?"

"With my zanpakutō," Rukia said, "they are not regular swords, even within Soul Society. Zanpakutō are a shinigami's power. The blades are capable of purifying hollows and sending those purified souls on. The hilts have a seal that sends lingering spirits on safely. Either way, only the shinigami have zanpakutō, and as such, only shinigami have those duties."

Ichigo frowned, both at the explanation, as well as how easily Rukia gave them that information. That pride, again, that first refused Ichigo's right to tell his friends and family what happened again, while easily handing that information over herself. Ichigo hoped that this was just Rukia deciding to trust them rather than loose lips.

"How are you going to do your job?" Ichigo asked when he realized what Rukia _not_ having her power meant. "Hollows, I can take care of on my own. But there are a lot of spirits that stick around."

Like Naomi. Ichigo would have to check on her later. She was a strong enough spirit that hollows would like her as a snack. And the small ward that Ichigo had placed near the area Naomi stuck around the most only did so much.

" _You_ are going to do my job, Ichigo," Rukia said simply. She smiled even as Ichigo froze. "The World of the Living runs parallel to Soul Society. I have been assigned to this town, but I am incapable of sending messages home. Until my tour is done and I can return home, there is simply no one else to do my job."

"Wait, what?" Ichigo said. Wasn't a tour something to do with the military. He blinked as he parsed the rest of the sentence. "No. There is no way. For one, I don't have a zanpakutō. Second, how? Thirdly, no."

There was also the fact that Ichigo had taken Rukia's power because his family was in immediate danger. That, if not for Rukia in the first place, Ichigo could have reacted more appropriately to the situation by grabbing his bow. Ichigo could have killed the hollow himself.

Ichigo fought foremost to protect his family. He wasn't the type of person to standby when he saw strangers on the street being attacked or harassed. Ichigo also wasn't the type of person to go out of his way to defend them, either. Ichigo simply wasn't that nice of a person.

Also, he was a teenager, and a _tour_ sounded way too military for his tastes.

Rukia pulled out a glove and slipped it on. It was blue and had a flaming skull on the back. "Oh, you've got a zanpakutō. It is a monstrously oversized cleaver that you swing around with the grace of a caveman, but it is a zanpakutō nonetheless."

And then Rukia jumped forward and pressed the glove to Ichigo's forehead. He fell backward, and the glove followed him down. He managed to catch himself.

"What the _hell_ was that for!" Ichigo demanded.

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked, sounding worried. Ichigo glanced at her and saw that she was staring at… _his body_? Which was crumpled on the ground.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue echoed. She leaned forward to poke at Ichigo's body. Which was. Over there.

What. The fuck.

"He is fine," Rukia assured them. She looked between Ichigo and his _body_ somewhat impatiently. "Ichigo is simply having an out of body experience."

"What?" Ichigo asked. He looked down at himself and realized what he was wearing. It was the same black outfit that Rukia had been wearing when she first showed up in his room. And the zanpakutō was slung across his back again, held in place by a thick red rope.

Huh. It wasn't as frilly as he thought it would be. And it was easy to move in, too, though Ichigo had expected that. _Hakama_ generally were easy to move in. He bounced lightly in place, which Ichigo always did whenever he tried on new clothing.

"The uniform is called the _shihakushō_ ," Rukia explained. "It is the uniform of the shinigami. You have shinigami powers, and so you are dressed in our uniform. When my power left me, I was left in a white _yukata_."

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki repeated. She carefully did not look at his body, but rather in his direction. Rukia was looking at him, so she followed her line of sight. It was a trick that Tatsuki had picked up by growing up around Ichigo and Uryū.

Ichigo wondered if he would be able to make himself visible like he could make Naomi visible. It was just an inversion of the usual spell, right? Or would his own strength make it so that the inversion made him _harder_ to see? Like an invisibility spell, except even for spiritual awareness…

Either way, now wasn't the time for theories or experiments. Besides, Uryū would want to help. He always did. Even _if_ Uryū seemed to hate shinigami almost instinctively.

"How do I get back in my body?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia frowned at him. What, did she think that Ichigo would be _excited_ to be kicked out of his body? She also still looked impatient. Which, _why_?

"Just touch it an focus," Rukia said, "It is _your_ body, so it will absorb you on its own. It should be less work than putting on a gig."

Ichigo sighed and did as said. He touched his body. There was a weird feedback. It felt like he was receiving the sensation of both his body and his spirit touching each other at the same time. Huh. Well, it _was_ his body.

There was sudden pressure bearing down on Ichigo. It felt like he had just jumped into a pool. It wasn't painful, but it was surprising. Ichigo blinked and then felt himself _shift-_

Ichigo opened his eyes. He was back in his body.

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked. She helped him sit up. "You good?"

Chad and Inoue hovered over him as well. Mizuiro and Keigo hung back, but kept wary eyes on him. Wait, no, Keigo kept an eye on Ichigo. _Mizuiro_ was keeping an eye on _Rukia_.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah. Didn't hurt at all. It was just weird. Especially with that sword."

"A sword?" Tatsuki asked, frowning. "You'll need training if you're going to keep it. You have _no idea_ how to use a sword."

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo rolled his eyes. "But where would I learn?"

"I," Rukia huffed. She looked offended that they almost forgot that she was still there. Ha. Like they would. Rukia was still too much of an unknown that they would just _forget_ that she was there. Besides, Ichigo trusted Mizuiro to keep an on her even if they _did_. "Am going to teach you."

Ichigo stared at her. "You'll have to teach Tatsuki, then."

"Why?" Rukia asked, frowning.

"Tatsuki-chan and Kurosaki-kun learn everything together," Inoue said, as if it were obvious. Because it _was_. "And Ishida-kun, too…"

"Uryū is too set on archery to really work with a sword," Ichigo said. Though he did manage to make Uryū take martial arts lessons with Ichigo when they were younger. "Maybe he'll want to learn the basics."

"I do not know if he will work with me," Rukia said. She looked offended at the very thought of someone deliberately avoiding her.

"Probably not," Tatsuki agreed.

"I'll beat it into him if he's stubborn," Ichigo said, shrugging. He probably would have to, if Uryū's reaction to Rukia was any indication. Or keep them forever apart. It depended on what Uryū told him was the issue with shinigami.

"Um, Kuchiki-san," Inoue said hesitantly, "I know you have to teach Kurosaki-kun how to use a sword, and Tatsuki-chan will learn with him. But, do you think that you could also teach me? I mean, not a lot, but…"

"I, too, would like to participate," Chad said.

Ichigo grinned at them, amused and pleased by the idea. Chad and Inoue where capable of taking care of themselves, and though Inoue was prone to accidents, Chad had his near inhuman durability. But Chad and Inoue weren't ones to use weapons. Inoue could use a bow decently, and Chad could use a bow passably well, since Tatsuki and Ichigo had taken to teaching them. Swords were a different matter. They could be _amazing_ with a sword.

Rukia sighed and looked incredibly resigned to her life. Ichigo couldn't help but smirk with Tatsuki. That generally was the reaction to Ichigo's group of friends.

"Oooh," Keigo said and made himself known for the first time during the conversation. Strange, he normally made himself part of the conversation. Or, maybe, not so strange. As much as Keigo was an idiot, he wasn't actually _stupid_. "Can we learn too? Can we?" he asked.

"It does sound like a useful skill to have," Mizuiro added. That was not a lie, but Ichigo could practically _see_ Mizuiro planning to use it to pull in more women. Or maybe something else entirely. Mizuiro liked keeping the people around him confused. Maybe he was just interested.

Rukia frowned. "I have no choice but to teach Ichigo. And Orihime and Chad wish to learn for a reason that I can understand. But you two simply wish to learn for what are selfish reasons."

Keigo looked meek at Rukia's assessment. Mizuiro just smiled, neither confirming nor denying anything.

"You don't have to teach them," Ichigo said. Mizuiro and Keigo looked at him like he killed their favorite pet. Manipulative idiots, no matter that they had _nothing_ on Yuzu. "Maybe you can teach them how to hold a sword without accidentally cutting themselves open," he amended.

Teaching them that sounded like a _good idea_. Ichigo wondered about his sisters…

"Maybe you can teach Karin and Yuzu too," Tatsuki said. "We'd teach them after we learned enough, but having you around would be good."

Rukia frowned. "Maybe," she allowed, "But that depends entirely on how well Ichigo does. He may be doing my work as a shinigami, but that does not mean that I do not have other things to do."

"Kuchiki-san, where are you staying?" Inoue asked. Probably because she saw Ichigo's face twist into something unpleasant at Rukia's statement.

Rukia shrugged and waved a hand. "It is of no matter. My lodging have already been taking care of."

Ichigo frowned at her. That was ominous.

"How are we going to keep in touch?" Ichigo asked, decided that he did not want to know. "If I'm supposed to take over your job until your powers come back."

Honestly, Ichigo wasn't even sure he he _wanted_ the job. For one, he was only fifteen. He had school and his sisters to worry about. Secondly, what about Uryū and his reaction? Because Uryū _knew_ about shinigami and he very clearly _did not like_ them. And then there was the _tour_ Rukia mentioned. Maybe it wasn't what he thought it meant, but…

Also, Ichigo just plain didn't _want_ to. Like he said. Not that nice.

Rukia pulled out a flip phone from her pocket. "We will keep in touch using _this_. It is a _denreishinki_."

"That is a cell phone," Tatsuki said flatly, "nothing really divine about it."

"If it were a regular _human_ phone, then yes," Rukia said. She sniffed and looked offended that Tatsuki had even made the comparison. She sure was looking offended a lot. "The denreishinki are used by shinigami sent to the World of the Living. Other than our Hell Butterflies, they are the only way to directly communicate with the shinigami back in Soul Society."

"The shinigami adapted them from cell phones, though, right?" Ichigo asked. He didn't even want to ask about Hell Butterflies right now. Besides, they were probably like that one butterfly that had given him a headache.

"Perhaps," Rukia allowed. It looked like she was being threatened to do so. "I am not in the Twelfth Division, so I do not know its origins."

 _Twelfth Division_? Ichigo wondered. Were the shinigami organized enough that they actually had divisions? _Tour_ , too… That implied some things Ichigo really wasn't comfortable with.

"How does that help us stay in communication?" Ichigo asked. Because if it were just a cell phone instead of whatever Soul Society had done to it, they would be able to exchange numbers.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Just because this is not your primitive human technology does not mean that ic cannot connect to your cellular service. We exchange numbers just as you would. Denreishinki are used for work rather than social calls."

"Yeah, it's a work phone, okay," Ichigo said. He pulled his phone out. "Here, you can put your number in."

"Oh, I will do more than that," Rukia muttered. She grabbed his phone and then, before Ichigo could react, plugged something into the charging port.

"Here," Rukia said after it _beeped_ at her. She handed him his phone. Ichigo quickly checked it over to see if anything was wrong. Nothing was that he could tell, though it did feel warm. _Spiritually_ warm.

What?

"What did you do?" Ichigo asked.

"I added my denreishinki data to your phone using a copier. I am unable to connect to home to request a new one. Your phone now has the same basic functions as my denreishinki." Rukia explained.

"What _does_ a denreishinki do?" Inoue asked curiously. In time to stop Ichigo from trying to hit Rukia for altering his phone without his permission. Sometimes Ichigo wondered how she convinced the world that she was dumber than she actually was.

"Usually, it acts as the connection between shinigami stationed in the World of the Living and those in Soul Society," Rukia said, "but here, there is one function even more important. It tracks hollows."

Almost as if it recognized its cute, Ichigo's phone started screaming at him. Loudly. He dropped it and covered his ears.

"What the _hell_ is that noise?" Ichigo demanded. Loudly. Because he wasn't sure if he was going deaf from the noise or not.

Rukia got to her feet and then pushed Ichigo out of his body. Again. He didn't even try to get away because he was too focused on blocking the _noise_. How the hell was Rukia ignoring it?

"That is the alarm that alerts us to a hollow!" Rukia said, "Dismiss it, and then it will show the tracker!"

Tatsuki ended up being the one to turn his phone off. Even if she couldn't hear the screaming, she could see his phone blinking. Ichigo pulled his hands away from his ears. His ears still rang.

"Thanks," Ichigo said to Tatsuki. Even if she couldn't hear him.

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked. She hovered over his body. She looked ready to jump Rukia. As uncomfortable as it felt to be pushed out of his body, it was probably worse to see his body fall to the ground.

"He is here, and he is fine," Rukia assured. Or, tried to. That really wasn't a reassuring tone.

"You need to stop doing that without permission," Ichigo said flatly. He tried reaching for his body again, but Rukia grabbed his wrist.

"No, you cannot just yet," Rukia said, staring at him, "You have a job to do. There is a hollow arriving, if it is not already here."

"Ichigo," Tatsuki said. She stared at Rukia. It probably looked like she was gripping nothing. "Go. I'll look after your body."

"Yeah!" Inoue agreed, smiling. "Go be a superhero!"

Chad didn't say anything. But there was a look in his eye that gave Ichigo strength. Even Mizuiro and Keigo looked reassuring. Which was, frankly, the strangest thing that happened in the last five minutes.

"Fucking hell," Ichigo muttered. He pulled his wrist out of Rukia's grasp. "Fine. I'll do it. But I am _not_ happy about being dropped into this mess."

"You do not have to _like_ it," Rukia said, "as long as you do your job."

Ichigo groaned. He hated doing something like this without at _least_ Tatsuki there. Or Uryū. Hell, even Chad would be nice, even if he was the one most unused to fighting with Ichigo against spirits. Inoue would also have been a cheerful presence.

This was going to be a disaster. Ichigo could just _tell_. Because swinging a sword as long as he was tall around like a baseball bat was very useful and did _wonders_ for how effective it was.

"Okay," Ichigo said.

* * *

"This is _not_ okay!" Ichigo shouted the next night, because _what the hell_ , Rukia had just popped out of his _closet_. His closet was _not Narnia_ , okay, how the hell did Rukia even get in there? And why hadn't anyone noticed her?

"There is no time!" Rukia said and scrambled to her feet.

"What do you _mean_ no time-" Ichigo started and then stopped when he saw what Rukia was wearing.

Rukia was wearing the dress Yuzu had asked him about last night. It had apparently gone missing, and since Yuzu was the one that did most of the laundry, Ichigo believed her. Oh, Yuzu was going to kill them. No- Ichigo would kill Rukia first and then go to Yuzu for repentance.

Hopefully Ichigo would get away with just another bruise from a ladle. He had bruises still developing from earlier that day, when Rukia had taken them how to wield swords. Rukia had somehow gotten her hands on some _shinai_ and had pelted Ichigo with baseballs. At least with Tatsuki, Inoue, and Chad there, Rukia had done so _while_ Ichigo was in his body.

The baseballs had been drawn on, split between _plus_ and _minus_. Rukia still drew in that horribly cutesy style, but at least she had taken Ichigo's previous criticism to heart. Somewhat. They were easier to tell apart this time, at least.

It was kind of a humiliating experience, if Ichigo were to be completely honest. Ichigo had figured that using his sword- sorry, zanpakutō- like a baseball bat wasn't a good idea normally, but here it was okay. At least the wood of the shinai made satisfying sounds whenever he hit a ball. Rukia said that she would teach them _actual_ stances and forms later, and that pelting them with baseballs was just to test their reflexes.

That had been directly after school, and had lasted a couple of hours. Afterwards, Ichigo and Tatsuki had passed by Naomi's street corner. Naomi had been scared of the hollow, but managed to hide behind one of the wards. Not that it particularly mattered; from what Naomi said, it was like the hollow went straight for the Clinic.

Which was concerning. Enough so that, despite his own feelings towards Rukia, Uryū had helped Ichigo put up emergency wards. Not that that stopped Uryū from leaving as soon as they were done. Ichigo would have to chase Uryū down so they could have that talk. Only familiarity made Ichigo certain that Uryū was just reeling from Rukia's presence rather than any desire to keep a secret from Ichigo.

Uryū didn't even stay to help explain things to Yuzu and Karin. Tatsuki had, though, and had been there for a while. His father hadn't been there, off with a drinking buddy for the day, but that was fine. After dinner, Tatsuki had when home for the night.

Which led to _this_. Ichigo, in bed, mindlessly playing a game until Rukia jumped out of his _closet_. She jumped and pressed the that annoying blue glove against Ichigo's forehead. He fell backwards out of his body. Again.

"You've got to fucking _stop that_!" Ichigo shouted.

To top it all off, the wards decided to go ff just then. Rudimentary things, they were, because Ichigo and Uryū would have to sit down and actually talk to make more in-depth ones, but they did the job. At the same time, the hollow alarm on Ichigo's phone went off. Tatsuki had _thankfully_ managed to change it so it wouldn't deafen him every time it went off.

"Shit!" Ichigo said when he the hand started coming through his bedroom floor. From _below_ \- oh, gods, that was the _kitchen_ , his sisters better be in their room and not downstairs for a snack- Ichigo scrambled backwards, instinctively going for the zanpakutō at his back.

The hollow roared. Ichigo swing his zanpakutō. He was too slow, still too unused to the weight of it, but the sheer size of it helped here. Ichigo managed to crack the mask.

And then stopped, when Ichigo saw the very _human_ eye glaring at him. Because that eye was familiar. Familiar in a way that Ichigo probably should _not_ recognize in this place and time. Because the implications of that was-

The hollow retreated, still roaring rage and defiance. Ichigo couldn't tell if it was scared off by its mask cracking. Or if it- if _he_ just hadn't planned on his face being seen. That's why people wore masks in the first place.

Rukia stood next to him. She looked sympathetic when she noticed Ichigo's expression. "That is why we are trained to cut hollows from behind. So that we do not see the soul that they were underneath, and therefore hesitate from purifying them."

"…I knew him," Ichigo said softly. Distantly, but he could hardly forget _watching_ someone die.

"We would best leave then," Rukia said grimly, "If you know any living relatives, then he will go after them."

 _Inoue_.

She had been injured that morning, hadn't she? But she said that it was a car accident. She had the bruises on her arms to prove it. Though there was that odd mark on her leg-

Well. Shit. Ichigo would have to go ask Uryū to help train his sensing abilities. Ichigo should have been able to feel the hollow energy clearly. Rukia definitely had, since she found that mark suspicious. That was entirely unacceptable.

"Ichi-nii?" Karin asked through his bedroom door. "What's going on?"

"Hollow," Ichigo said. Yeah, they'd have heard the alarms too. "Got to go and kill it. I'll tell you everything after, okay?"

"Okay," Yuzu said. "Be safe."

"We'll take care of your body," Karin promised.

"Come back soon. Dinner is almost ready." Yuzu added.

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo said. "Thanks." He picked his body up and put it on his bed. No need to just let it sit there and get muscle cramps. Rukia climbed on his back because her gigai was slow. Then he opened his window and _jumped_.

If there was one thing about being a disembodied spirit that made the whole, you know, _disembodied spirit_ thing worth it was that Ichigo was now able to do things like _this_. It turned out that when you were made of spiritual energy, and had enough of it, the laws of physics turned out to be less of laws and more of suggestions.

Damn. Ichigo really needed to get Uryū to help him figure out how not having a body worked. As well as getting Tatsuki-

Shit. Tatsuki was at Inoue's apartment too. Ichigo pushed himself faster.

"You have heard that widows often die soon after their spouses," Rukia said. And shit, why was she bothering to try a lecture now? Why not after? "It is theorized that it is of a broken heart. In reality, their souls are eaten by their deceased spouse, which have turned into hollows."

Ichigo didn't bother trying to explain that there _had_ been recent research into how humans died of broken hearts. Likely, as a spirit as old as Rukia claimed she was, she had little to no knowledge in biology. Besides, it wasn't as if Rukia was lying. Just because Ichigo hadn't seen it happen did not mean that it never happened. There was a reason Karakura offered such a robust counseling system, and hollows was a rather large part of that.

"How do they become hollows?" Ichigo asked, even as he made himself run faster. There was no way he was letting either Tatsuki or Inoue get eaten.

Rukia didn't answer. Rude. "Hurry, fool. If we do not, then that girl will die."

"Her name is _Inoue Orihime_ ," Ichigo snarled. He saw Inoue's apartment and almost without thinking, he- _phased_ through the wall. And then he was in Inoue's living room. He accidentally left Rukia behind.

Inoue was there, hovering over Tatsuki. Tatsuki, who was conscious, but bleeding from a head wound and two long gashes on her side.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue greeted. She smiled warmly at him despite the situation. "Tatsuki-chan will be okay! She has a concussion, but she's been hit worse during tournaments!"

"Wait. You can see me?" Ichigo asked.

And then he saw the chain on Inoue's chest. And then her body.

"She's already dead," a soft voice said from behind him. "So it is her soul that can see you."

And then Ichigo flew through the window. It broke on impact. Apparently, he had to _focus_ to phase through things. It seemed that shinigami had strong enough spiritual energy to interact with the physical world otherwise. Even if most humans couldn't see them.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted.

Ichigo twisted mid-air, grabbed his zanpakutō, and swung it around. It blocked the tail that came for him. And then the hollow _spat_ at Ichigo, a gross green liquid. Despite dodging, Ichigo's hands still ended up covered in it, and his hands started to burn.

"Shit," Ichigo hissed in pain, and then jumped further back. He pushed with his spiritual energy and coated his hands in a very rudimentary mitten. It wouldn't heal his injuries, but at least it would stop the acid.

Fuck. Why the hell didn't Ichigo grab his bow?

Ichigo was tougher and stronger than most people, especially when he used his spiritual energy to bolster his body. That didn't mean that martial arts would do anything against a hollow, especially since he was still working on hardening his skin like his mother used to. And using a sword that Ichigo had no idea how to wield was doing him more harm than good.

Then the hollow came again and knocked Ichigo into the ground. Concrete actually broke beneath him. This time it _hurt_ , much more than Ichigo would like. Ichigo decided that he'd just… rest. For a moment.

"Ichigo!" Rukia said and kneeled next to him. Her hands hovered over him as if she was worried to touch him. "Ichigo, you need to hurry. That hollow is going after Orihime."

"Like hell," Ichigo growled and climbed to his feet.

Ichigo hadn't met Sora before he died, but he did know this: Sora _loved_ Inoue. Sora had stolen her from the fuckers that had donated their DNA to Inoue. And Inoue was _Inoue_ ; she would never let herself be eaten by her brother. Sora just needed some persuasion to leave Inoue alone, is all.

At least, that was what Ichigo felt until he re-entered Inoue's apartment as Sora threatened to kill Inoue.

"Oh, fuck you!" Ichigo shouted, because that really was the topper to an already shitty situation. Ichigo brought his zanpakutō up and around to push Sora away from Inoue. Huh. His anger made the handle fit more comfortably in his hand. "Don't you fucking say something like that!"

This was Sora's little sister. He was her _older brother_! To even threaten to attack Inoue was disgusting. To attempt it was even worse. And that twisted speech, as if Inoue were an object to be owned-

Ichigo, vaguely, distantly, wondered if this iciness was how Uryū felt when he was angry. It seemed that the past couple of days were for everything to switch around.

"If Orihime won't live for me, then she'll die for me!" Sora yelled. He rushed towards Ichigo.

Ichigo brought up his zanpakutō to block. But before they could meet each outer, Inoue moved forwards and raised her arms-

Sora bit down on Inoue's shoulder. Blood started to seep from her wounds, dripping down her back. And still, Inoue pulled Sora in closer for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Onii-chan," Inoue whispered. "I"m sorry that I made you feel like I forgot about you. I… wanted you to hear about my life. All of the fun things that happened. The things…. And the people that I like."

Rukia came to stand by Ichigo, having climbed through the now-shattered window. Both watched as Inoue explained why she had stopped praying at Sora's shrine. Ichigo knew that Inoue was still heartbroken over her brother's death. But here- well. Ichigo had always known that Inoue was the strongest of all of them.

"Here," Ichigo said when Inoue was done speaking, and held out his zanpakutō handle first. Sora was himself right now, and he was a good older brother. Ichigo didn't think that _killing him_ would weigh nicely on his conscious, but… Ichigo would rather die than to hurt his sisters. Sora obviously felt the same; or, he definitely did when he was human. This was a way out the only Ichigo could give right now.

"It is fine," Rukia said quietly. She walked over to Inoue after she collapsed. Her hands glowed green with spiritual energy, unlike any Ichigo had felt before. "Killing a hollow with a zanpakutō is not a true death. It is a purification. Their sins are cleansed and they are sent on to Soul Society."

Comforted, Ichigo held his zanpakutō up. It was…. Odd, to hand it over to someone that was not him. But Inoue, and Sora, needed this. Some slight discomfort was worth it. As nice as it would be for Sora to revert out of his hollow form, Ichigo knew that it was impossible. Not the way that Sora was now.

"Then," Sora paused and smiled at Inoue. "Goodbye, Orihime." He took Ichigo's zanpakutō and stabbed himself in the chest.

Rather than disappearing, disintegrating instantly into spiritual particles as Ichigo had seen other hollows do, Sora _faded_. Sora dissolved into glowing dust slowly. It allowed Inoue to say her own goodbyes. Ichigo watched as Sora left with a smile on his face.

Ichigo strapped his sword to his back. Now that he was paying attention, he watched how his zanpakutō covered itself. The thick red cord shifted over his chest, and Ichigo could feel cloth tassel extend and wrap itself around the blade. It was the oddest feeling, but it was easier than trying to sheathe the zanpakutō.

"…Thank you, Kurosaki-kun," Inoue said after a long moment.

"No problem," Ichigo assured quietly. "Will you be okay?" he asked. Because Ichigo knew that, despite her smile, Inoue was by no means _okay_ right now.

"Yeah," Inoue said. She paused and blinked up at him. "Um. How do I get back into my body?"

"Just touch it?" Ichigo offered, shrugging. "That's how it works for me. How are you feeling? Rukia done healing you? Oh, and can you please heal Tatsuki too, Rukia?"

Rukia sniffed. "I have already started, fool." And she was, though it was definitely a recent thing. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Oh, okay," Inoue said. She looked surprised that she had been bleeding. From a bite wound. Seriously, Inoue's ability to hyper focus was legendary. "…Will my body be like this?" she asked, and motioned vaguely to her shoulder.

"No. You will likely be sore, as I was not able to heal it completely. But you are safe to enter your body now." Rukia said.

Rukia's hands glowed green as she healed Tatsuki. Ichigo _had_ to learn that trick since it looked so much easier than just shoving spiritual energy at a wound and hoping for the best. Extra spiritual energy bolstered the spirit which bolstered the body and improved healing, but there had to be better. It also looked like something that Uryū would be interested in learning.

"How is Tatsuki?" Ichigo asked. He kneeled next to his sister and grabbed her hand. He was invisible to her, but he had just learned that he could interact with the physical world. And Tatsuki was familiar enough that latching onto her was easy. Tatsuki blinked and focused blurry eyes on Ichigo. She _was_ stubborn enough to stay conscious when Inoue was in danger.

"I am the most worried about her concussion, but she will be fine," Rukia assured. Ichigo _knew_ that. Tatsuki had worse injuries from tournaments- but she'd never been injured by a hollow before. It was nice to have confirmation though.

"That's good." Ichigo said. He started feeding Tatsuki some of his spiritual energy. It was better than nothing, since energy was energy. At the very least it would help with both the pain and Rukia's healing. Tatsuki blinked again, and managed to focus more clearly on Ichigo.

"I am going to start teaching you _zanjutsu_ ," Rukia said into the silence.

"I thought you were already teaching us how to use swords," Inoue said.

Rukia shook her head. "I will continue teaching you, if you wish. But Ichigo is the shinigami, and today reminded me of it. He will need to learn zanjutsu."

There was… something, in Rukia's tone that piqued Ichigo's interest. Rukia saw something that made her think differently than she had before. And that had to have happened during the fight.

Ichigo sighed and returned his attention to his friends. Tatsuki was conscious and becoming more aware as Rukia healed her. Inoue was poking at her body, curious and ecstatic for the opportunity. Ichigo saw Rukia start sweating. It seemed that the effort to heal both Inoue and Tatsuki was harder than she let on.

Ichigo had no idea how to play battery to her. Quincy in general took the spiritual energy in the air and used it as they wished. Ichigo leaked enough energy that what he used in Quincy techniques tended to be his own energy. That was why his control was shit and it took so long to form a bow. He had to reach past his own spiritual energy for one that he could manipulate.

Uryū was good at using Ichigo as a spiritual battery. Ichigo was also good at transferring his energy to Uryū when he started getting tired. But that was between two Quincy, who had grown up together. Rukia was a shinigami.

Eh. Something to think about later. Honestly… Uryū needed to get his head out of his ass. Ichigo was thinking of so many different experiments to do with his new set of abilities. And of course Ichigo only thought of them when Uryū wasn't around.

"I am going to be in so much trouble," Rukia murmured. Ichigo assumed that her honesty was because she was tired. For all she tried to teach Ichigo about his duties, it always sounded rehearsed.

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia blinked and looked surprised that she had voiced the thought out loud. Still, she answered. "Because humans are not supposed to know about shinigami. If I were to follow protocol, I would have erased and replaced their memories by now."

Which… sounded fucking _horrible_ , honestly. Erasing someone's memories? Especially ones like this?

Ichigo shared a glance with Inoue, who looked unsettled by that too. Tatsuki gripped Ichigo's hand in distress. She could hear Rukia just fine.

"That's fucking stupid," Ichigo said flatly. Shit. Was _this_ why Uryū was avoiding him? Or rather, Rukia? Uryū was Quincy, but he was also human. And- _oh, fuck_ , was that why Yuzu and Karin didn't remember what happened when the hollow attacked?

Rukia rolled her eyes. "It is protocol, fool. And it only works on humans with less than average spiritual energy."

That was a relief, though that _didn't_ explain why Yuzu and Karin were affected too. Ichigo saw Inoue and Tatsuki relax. Also… "You aren't using it on me because I'd tell them everything anyways."

Rukia frowned at him but didn't deny it. _Ha_. At least she was a quick learner. It usually took people losing their patience and sanity before they realized that Ichigo would quite literally burn the world for his family. Telling them the truth about anything happening around them was simply, really.

Inoue pressed a hand to her body and- well, it was interesting, to watch as he soul and her body sort of _layered_ over each other. It was like watching water go through a drain for a long second and then Inoue sat up. She blinked and rubbed at her shoulder. Ichigo frowned and sort of. _Poked_ at her, sensing. He was a shit sensor in general, really, but he found it easy enough to check whether or not people were hurting.

Inoue _felt_ injured like this. Or- not injured, but weak. Weak, but healing. Huh. It seemed that Ichigo was marginally better at sensing energy when he _wasn't_ in his body. Seemed a bit backwards, since his body wasn't there to provide a barrier between him and the rest of the world. Uryū would be able to help test this too. Hopefully.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asked, and rubbed lightly at the spot he poked. Oh, yeah. She was in her body now, so she couldn't see Ichigo. Well, that sucked. Rukia would have to play messenger.

Ichigo made sure Tatsuki was comfortable, and helped Inoue drag her to her bed. It would be better than the futon, which Tatsuki normally used when she spent the night at Inoue's. Inoue looked intrigued at the empty space where Ichigo was, but didn't stop to ask questions.

"I'll tell Tatsuki-chan everything," Inoue said to the room.

"Yeah," Ichigo said, "Good night. Take care, all right?" Rukia relayed the sentiments properly.

"Yup! Good night, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san!" Inoue said. She was still waving to them until she was out of sight.

Ichigo sighed, glad that Tatsuki was there, even if she was injured. Inoue trusted Tatsuki the most, after all, and having someone there to talk to would be beneficial. Inoue said goodbye to her brother, and that had to be hard enough without keeping all that emotion in.

Rukia followed him quietly as they walked back to his house. Yuzu and Karin would need explanations, both regarding the current situation and why they had forgotten what happened. And Rukia could probably spend the night at least, though Ichigo would deal with her _living conditions_. There was no way he was letting her stay in his closet. But he wasn't so mean to just kick her out on the street.

Ichigo needed to talk to Uryū. Uryū knew about shinigami, from his viscerally negative reaction to Rukia. There was a story there, and one Ichigo probably should know.

And- _Chad_. Chad deserved to know. Chad would know _something_ happened when he saw them all at school. Ichigo refused to leave him out of it. He would never complain, but Ichigo knew that Chad hated when Ichigo got into fights without him. And not the brawls that they got into daily, even if they preferred to go at those together, but the fights that _mattered_. After all, what use was a promise to fight for each other if they were never involved with the fights?

 _This_ , the shinigami thing, was definitely a fight that mattered. And if they were anything like what Ichigo just witnessed, they would continue to be so.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asked, looking up at him. "You are thinking. Very loudly."

"It's just…" Ichigo trailed off and thought about how to explain. "This is pretty big, you know? I had an idea before. But this is. Really big. More than I was thinking."

Rukia nodded. "Yes. Being a shinigami is a tiring task, but a necessary one. It… it is good, that you are finally seeing this."

Ichigo shook his head. That wasn't what he was talking about. "How are you going to teach me zanjutsu?" he asked instead.

"We will consider it an extracurricular activity, like a club," Rukia said after a moment's pause. "It is necessary that you learn how to wield your zanpakutō. An hour after school every day. Minimum."

Ichigo frowned, but thought about his own schedule. It wasn't that busy, since he didn't have a club anyways, so he could spare an hour after school each day. Yuzu and Karin had their own clubs that kept them busy, so he could swing by to pick them up still.

And he thought about his zanpakutō. It was easy to carry around, but there was… it just felt _off_ to him. Like Ichigo wasn't using it right, nor was it the right shape for him. It might be because Ichigo was too used to his bow, and his fists, to think that a sword was comfortable. But it might not be, either. If Ichigo thought he didn't know how to use a zanpakutō, then his power would decide that, _yeah, sure, of course you don't_ , and decide to just… not.

"That sounds okay," Ichigo decided. He didn't have anything against swords in general. And with luck, maybe he could have it put on his record as a club? "Tatsuki will learn right alongside me, though."

Rukia sighed. "Yes. Even in the past couple of days I have noticed that you will not do anything without her."

Ichigo couldn't help but snort at that. "Well, not _anything_. But we learned everything we do together. Tatsuki won't be as interested in it, but she'll stick around through it all. You won't have to worry about her interrupting."

"Your life is an interruption," Rukia said, snorting. Then she looked shocked and indignant that she had said that out loud.

Ichigo laughed, and felt tension he didn't know he had fade from his body. Because that, right there? Proof. Proof that Rukia was more than she made herself out to be. She wasn't just some haughty shinigami that assumed superiority over everyone. She wasn't just a spirit using a false body to traverse the world of the Living. She was just… Rukia. And this Rukia was probably the Rukia that only existed around friends, when she didn't have to act so hard. Or so mean.

"You've got no place to talk, midget," Ichigo said. Not at all fondly, what were you talking about. Anyways, if Rukia had it in her to tease like that, there was no reason that they couldn't get along. Obviously her haughty attitude was just a mask for the person underneath. That was something Ichigo could work with. He had been assured, by plenty of people he trusted, that he could get even the most cold-hearted people to act out from emotion. Tended to be exasperation, sure, but still.

"Midget! How _dare_ you!" Rukia shrieked in outrage. She tried to kick him in the knee. Ichigo dodged it, smirking.

"It's not offensive if it's true," Ichigo said, "Also, that is Yuzu's dress. She's annoyed that it was taken."

"I had no other clothes to wear," Rukia said, sniffing. It was obviously an attempt to regain her exposure. Too bad! Ichigo had already seen a facet of her true self. And Ichigo would bring her true self forward or die trying. And since Ichigo had absolutely no intention of dying anytime soon, Rukia was _screwed_.

"So? That doesn't give you the right to steal," Ichigo said. He managed to _not_ say anything about Rukia being small enough to fit into Yuzu's clothing. Or that, apparently, Rukia thought she had the right in the first place. "If you asked, Yuzu would gladly lend her stuff to you."

"I do not need your charity," Rukia said simply and firmly, "…but I will accept _her_ generosity."

Rukia was still uptight, having regained her composure. Well. Ichigo and his family had time. Because Yuzu and Karin and Tatsuki were _definitely_ going to help him. It'd do Rukia some good.

Ichigo had hope for her now.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: If you were previously subscribed to this story, I recommend that you restart. I've re-written iris! The first two chapters have an extra 10,000 words of content spread out over four chapters. The last half of chapter four is completely new!

* * *

"You really need to talk with Uryū," Tatsuki said. She still had that bruise on her forehead, though it was yellow with age. The gashes on her side were now just long scratches, though they were also an angry red. Tatsuki complained that she was sore, but she wasn't _hurt_.

A week had passed since Sora, and it was a new weekend. Tatsuki would normally be with Inoue, but Inoue had asked to be alone, at least for a night. Ichigo was intimately aware with how grief affected people differently, so they were perfectly willing to let her do so.

And a week was also a long time to go with _just_ emergency wards. Ichigo had layered them over each other as the week passed, as well as some generic protection, but it wasn't the same as the old ones. They'd have to be made from scratch.

Ichigo sighed and looked up from his homework. Tatsuki twirled her pencil in her fingers. "Yeah, I know. I was planning on talking to him tomorrow." Tomorrow was Sunday, so that would be the best time to track Uryū down and to sit on him so he couldn't escape.

Tatsuki frowned. "You sure? Maybe go see him tonight. That way he has tomorrow to deal with it."

Ichigo thought about it. Uryū liked to show the rest of the world that he was pretty much unflappable. Unfortunately for him, Ichigo and Tatsuki knew how much effort that actually took. "Yeah, that does sound better. I'm worried he'll run away from me though."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. You both have been through too much shit together to do that."

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. Tatsuki would know. She had been there right alongside them both. "He _has_ been avoiding Rukia though."

"And she's been attacked to you like a limpet," Tatsuki said. She frowned. "I know it's just your spirit leaving your body, but it is _not fun_ to watch you collapse like that."

"It's not fun for me either," Ichigo said. He ended up with bruises that he didn't need because of it. Also… "But I do want to talk to Uryū about making myself visible to you."

Tatsuki blinked and then grinned. "Oh, yeah. You make Naomi visible whenever we visit. It'd be interesting to see you as a spirit. Especially with that sword you keep complaining about."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yeah. And then you get to see me swing it around like an oversized baseball bat."

"Why do shinigami get swords anyways?" Tatsuki asked. She still smirked at him for providing that image to her. Asshole. "It sounds cool, but…"

"I have no idea," Ichigo said. "But it's annoying. I don't min learning zanjutsu, really. It would have been nice to have a bow though."

"Pretty sure it couldn't have been a bow," Tatsuki pointed out, "Uryū was always insistent that Quincy are the only people with spiritual energy that used bows."

"At least those that aren't _miko_ ," Ichigo added, amused.

Uryū had meant that Quincy were the only _group_ of people that used bows an arrows- at least that one that were large enough to be qualified as a separate entity, at least. They had, after all, met several miko and priests that used bows as well. In fact, it was a miko that had suggested that Ichigo use a physical bow if he didn't have the time to make one out of spiritual energy during a fight.

It also meant that Uryū had known about shinigami for a long while. And that was something that Ichigo refused to let Uryū keep a secret. Not from them.

"Yeah," Tatsuki said, also amused. "You'd best call Uryū. He's probably worried about you."

"I'm worried about _him_ ," Ichigo sighed. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Uryū. "You good with keeping Rukia busy?" he asked.

"Of course," Tatsuki said. "Make sure to bring your bow, yeah? It's been a couple of fights where you've been shit out of luck because you forgot it."

"I know," Ichigo muttered, "It feels like I've been forced into more situations that need my bow than I have been."

Tatsuki frowned. "Like, ever since Rukia got here, things have been crazy?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. It couldn't be the spiritual energy aspect, either. "It's only been a week, but…"

"Keep track," Tatsuki said. "Two incidents isn't enough to make a theory."

"Okay," Ichigo agreed.

His phone vibrated. _At the apartment_.

That meant the small flat that Uryū had a lease on. Uryū still had his room at Uncle Ryūken's place, but the apartment was where they all went when they needed their privacy. Ichigo should have honestly expected that Uryū would be there.

 _On my way_. Ichigo replied.

"You going now?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. He packed an overnight bag, and grabbed his homework and his laptop. He slipped his bow over his shoulder. The twins had a small roof at their window, so that's where Ichigo would sneak out.

And why did it get to the point that Ichigo had to sneak out of his own home?

"Good," Tatsuki said. "I'll go keep Rukia busy. Good luck."

"Thanks," Ichigo said.

It was easy to climb onto the low-hanging roof and wait for Tatsuki's signal. Rukia was downstairs, which was why Ichigo was able to grab his stuff. Tatsuki just needed to make Rukia look away from the windows and doors.

It didn't take long. Tatsuki was good at what she did, and her personality was enough that Rukia had decided to keep an eye on her whenever they were together. Ichigo dropped to the round and rolled to the side. He crouched there for a second to make sure that no one would look outside.

Ichigo walked away still crouching. With his bow strung over his shoulder, he felt calmer than he had in the past few days. Because with a bow, Ichigo was assured of his ability. He felt like he could actually take care of himself, in a skilled manner.

There really was nothing like being smacked into walls to remind him that for as strong as he was, Ichigo was _not_ the best there was. It was unfortunate that Uncle Ryūken didn't still teach them. Uncle Ryūken could have taken care of that himself. He was the best at that.

As soon as Ichigo was out of the way of any sight lines from the house, he broke out in a brisk jog. It wasn't too long to the apartment. Uryū had chosen the apartment for its location between everyone's homes.

Uryū had long since given Ichigo and Tatsuki their own keys. Uryū hadn't given Chad and Inoue their own yet, but those two had yet to ask, either. Ichigo figured it was only a matter of time, really.

"Oi, Uryū!" Ichigo called when he shut the door behind him. He dropped his bag on the couch. Ichigo wasn't afraid of being loud here, because one of the first things they had put up were privacy wards. No one needed to hear Ichigo blow himself up trying to form a bow.

"In here," Uryū replied from the far back room.

The apartment was a two-bedroom, and only the back one was used as an actual place to sleep. The other room was used as one giant closet and storage area. They tended to do any homework and other stuff in the living room at the low table.

Ichigo went to the bedroom. Uryū was sitting on a cushion, leaned against the wall. Instead of his usual sewing, Uryū was knitting. It was a scarf, from what Ichigo could see of it, in purples and grays.

"Hey," Ichigo said softly. He placed his bow on the stand near the bedroom door. "You okay?"

Uryū only ever knit when he was thinking too hard to sew properly, and therefore didn't trust himself with a needle. He occasionally did commissions, but this definitely wasn't one of those. The last time Ichigo had seen Uryū knit was after their cat had just died.

"I'm fine," Uryū said. He didn't look up from his knitting. Wow. Barely even tried, Uryū.

Ichigo sighed and kneeled next to him. Slowly, so that Uryū could stop him if he wanted to, Ichigo gently pulled the knitting needles and yarn away from Uryū's hands and set them aside. And then Ichigo grabbed Uryū's hands because that was the only way to get Uryū to focus on him ever since they were small.

"You are really worked up about Rukia," Ichigo said. He let go of Uryū's hands and sat next to him.

"Your powers of observation astound me," Uryū said after a long moment. Ichigo relaxed when he heard that familiar dry tone. That meant for all that Uryū was upset, it wasn't something that needed a full family intervention. Full family interventions tended to get awkward.

"Bastard," Ichigo said fondly.

"You came here to talk," Uryū said pointedly.

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah. About shinigami."

Uryū snorted. "I guessed."

Ichigo elbowed him in the side. "Bastard," he repeated, a little less fondly. Only a little, though. "You knew about shinigami a long time ago. Where? And why do you hate them?"

 _Why didn't you tell me?_ Ichigo thought, but didn't ask. He'd be lying to himself if he learned that Uryū didn't tell him something important like this didn't hurt. Just a little bit. But there _had_ to be a reason.

Uryū sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That is a… long story."

"No shit," Ichigo agreed wryly, "But you've kept it a secret this long. Even from me. I'd like to know before I get any further into this thing from Rukia."

"She basically kidnapped you," Uryū muttered. Ichigo blinked at the unexpected sheer bitterness in his tone.

"Um, yeah," Ichigo agreed. Because how else could they explain how he interacted with Rukia? "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to stay with you."

"That's right," Uryū said, and smiled. It was a small smile, but Ichigo would take things where he could.

"So," Ichigo started, returning back to the elephant in the room. "Something happened. You hate shinigami. But that's not much of a story."

Ichigo waited. Uryū was silent, but it wasn't because Uryū didn't want to tell Ichigo. He could tell the difference between Uryū's thinking silences and his stubborn silences. This was one of the former.

After a couple of minutes, Uryū sighed, long and loud. "I learned about shinigami from Grandfather," Uryū said.

 _What_?

Ichigo grabbed Uryū's hands out of sheer reflex. He had accidentally trained himself to do so whenever Grandpa was mentioned. No wonder Uryū had been knitting. It was around Grandpa's death that Uryū started knitting to keep his hands busy.

Ichigo had met Ishida Sōken a few times when he was younger, but they were always brief meetings. He knew that Grandpa started teaching Uryū after Uncle Ryūken stopped teaching them anything. But since Ichigo's mother was his main teacher, Ichigo had never spoken to the elder Quincy about training.

Grandpa had been kind, and an efficient teacher, but that was all Ichigo really knew about him.

 _That means Mom knew about shinigami too_. The thought came to Ichigo unbidden, and he paused. Then he decided to ignore it for now. The idea of his mother keeping secrets hurt, but Uryū was more important right now. Ichigo could deal with his own problems later.

"What did he tell you?" Ichigo asked.

Uryū didn't speak for a moment. "What did Kuchiki-san tell you about shinigami?" he asked instead.

Ichigo frowned at the new direction, but thought about it. Uryū was leading him somewhere. "She said that they were in charge of keeping balance. They helped lingering spirits move on and purified hollows. Though I don't understand how purifying hollows is different than just killing them."

"Quincy don't purify them. We don't send them on. We just kill them," Uryū said quietly.

Ichigo stopped. "What?"

Uryū sighed and rubbed his tempo. "That is what Grandfather said. It's why the Quincy were slaughtered."

" _Slaughtered_?" Ichigo managed. Because Mom had taught him their history. There had been a decline in Quincy being born in the past century. But Mom didn't say anything about them being _slaughtered_.

"Yeah," Uryū agreed. He smiled wryly. "It happened a couple of centuries ago, I think. Our families are some of the last Quincy families that are still alive. It's why Father and Aunt were engaged when they were our age."

Ichigo still thought that was weird. Mom had always cheerfully treated Uncle Ryūken like her brother. Bringing up their previous engagement was about the only time Ichigo ever saw his uncle looking completely exasperated at something.

' _I may not be fond of your father, but at least Masaki's relationship with him meant that we did not have to get married,'_ Uncle Ryūken said the last time Ichigo had brought it up.

Mom and her sheer exuberance as also the reason that Uncle Ryūken was never surprised by anything Ichigo ever did. If he didn't know him as well as he did, Ichigo would mistake that quiet fondness as irritation.

"That still doesn't explain why you jumped straight to attempted murder," Ichigo pointed out.

Because in the past few days, Ichigo had learned that shinigami were organized enough to have a structure of command. And a structure of command implied military, with the way Rukia went on. If Uryū _did_ kill Rukia, there was no doubt that other shinigami would have come to kill them back just as hard.

"Because I was there when Grandfather was killed," Uryū said quietly.

Ichigo squeezed Uryū's hand, and leaned into his shoulder. Ichigo _knew_ that Uryū was there when Grandpa died. Ichigo and Tatsuki were the ones to deal with the aftermath of that, because Uncle Ryūken wasn't going to. This was the first time that Uryū mentioned that Grandpa was _killed_ though. Before, it had always been _when he died_.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked. He'd have to tell Tatsuki later. She needed to know, especially if Uryū was bringing up memories of Grandpa.

"Grandfather was teaching me how to make a bow," Uryū said. He stared at the far wall as he remembered. "But there were hollows. Grandfather told me to hide and that he would hold them off until the shinigami got there."

They never did, obviously. Ichigo grabbed Uryū's hand tighter.

"There's more," Ichigo said. Because if the shinigami _just_ didn't make it in time to save Grandpa, Uryū would be angry, but not furious. Uryū would blame all shinigami, but not hate them on sight. At least not to attempt murder.

"Oh, they got there on time," Uryū said. He smirked as if it were funny. "They just didn't come out until after Grandfather had died."

"Shit," Ichigo muttered. There really wasn't much that he could say to that. Uryū smirked at him, this time with honest amusement. It still felt hollow.

Ichigo closed his eyes and forcible detached himself from the situation. He wasn't going anywhere, so comforting Uryū would happen in a few minutes. There was- something felt _wrong_ with the story. Not on Uryū's part, nor the obvious. It was because-

"Rukia stepped between a stranger and a hollow to protect them," Ichigo murmured as he thought it through. Part of it was because Rukia had an almost casual disregard for her own safety. Most of it was because Rukia was _proud_ to be a shinigami, and the way she acted made it seem like that was the proper thing for a shinigami to do.

"One shinigami doesn't change what they did, Ichigo," Uryū said.

"Two," Ichigo replied.

Because Ichigo decided, just now. He was shinigami, regardless of how it happened. Ichigo would follow through with this. He would have to figure out whether or not he'd be able to keep his zanpakutō after Rukia regained her power. But Ichigo would continue the work he was doing.

Ichigo _liked_ being able to send lingering spirits on. He liked having the guarantee that killing hollows wouldn't destroy them permanently, even if that was new information.

It was something that Ichigo had been thinking about since he helped Inoue Sora pass on. It wasn't until _now_ that Ichigo figured everything out though. Because Ichigo was Quincy, and now he was a shinigami. There were things he could do that he wouldn't be able to if her were just one or the other.

Uryū squeezed Ichigo's hand in return. The grip was almost painful. Then Uryū let out a breath that was both amused and exasperated.

"You aren't giving this up," Uryū stated.

"No," Ichigo agreed.

Maybe with Ichigo as a shinigami, Uryū would also try not to kill Rukia again. Not to mention that Uryū would be interested in testing Ichigo's new abilities. Quincy and shinigami had different power sets after all, though there were _some_ parallels that Ichigo could draw.

There was also the fact that Rukia had _no idea_ what Quincy were. Shinigami were structured enough to send shinigami on missions and assign them to divisions. That spoke of _government_ and there was no way that every single shinigami knew what went on. Ichigo sure as hell didn't know everything that went on in the Japanese government. But maybe, as a shinigami, Ichigo could find out.

Maybe he'd learn about what happened to Grandpa.

Uryū sighed heavily and looked resigned to the situation. Well, Ichigo was Kurosaki. They tended to inspire those sorts of feelings in others. Even other Kurosaki. It was a gift, apparently.

"Fine," Uryū said shortly. "I don't like shinigami, and I never will. But if you're going to be doing this, that leaves me no choice. I am going to make you the best damn shinigami there is."

Ichigo started at Uryū. That was. Well, then. Maybe Ichigo could change his mind?

Uryū smirked. "You don't get a choice, Ichigo."

Ichigo stared. And sighed. And then Ichigo thought about it, and smiled. "This means that you have to take sword lessons too," he said. Because Rukia said that every shinigami had a zanpakutō.

Uryū stiffened. "No. Absolutely not."

"Nope, You are going to learn," Ichigo said brightly. He shook his head. "It'll be good for you. Besides, if I have to learn, then so do you."

"No," Uryū said flatly.

"Sorry! It's already been decided. You are learning how to use a sword." Ichigo said cheerfully. "You and Rukia will just have to deal with it."

"I said no, Ichigo," Uryū said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. What did you say? Oh, you said that you want to learn how to use a sword? Well, why didn't you just say so, Uryū! I'd have loved having you around since we first started," Ichigo said.

Ichigo was absolutely delighted when Uryū turned a truly fearsome scowl in his direction. Ha. Much better than before.

"I hate you," Uryū said.

"I love you too," Ichigo returned. He smiled cheerfully. Yuzu did the exact same thing when she knew she had won an argument. And Yuzu had to learn that from _somewhere_. Ichigo recalled the day she passed him in skill with both pride and fondness.

And yeah, okay, Uryū would put Ichigo through hell as they trained. He always did, and he always had fun doing so. At least this way Uryū learned something new, and had something to distract himself with. Besides, Ichigo felt weird learning a new skill without Uryū around.

Ichigo still made sure that he was holding Uryū's hand though.

* * *

"Ichigo, Uryū, you guys here?" Tatsuki called the next morning. "I have breakfast from Yuzu!"

Ichigo blinked away slowly. Uryū did the same next to him. They were curled up in bed facing each other. Ichigo was wrapped in a duvet and Uryū had somehow gotten tangled in both a blanket and the bed sheets.

Ichigo groaned and looked at the clock. It was… only ten in the morning. Well, technically they slept in, but that didn't mean that Ichigo felt more awake than he normally did. Ichigo and Uryū did stay up pretty late talking.

"How late were you guys up anyways?" Tatsuki asked when she found them. She sounded amused. Ichigo managed to not flip her off, though it was a close thing. Tatsuki sighed and crawled into bed next to Uryū.

"Morning," Ichigo yawned. Tatsuki wouldn't go away until they were both awake. "How are Yuzu and Karin?"

"The twins are fine. They understood why you left without a goodbye," Tatsuki said, "Rukia was irritated that you left without warning, but she didn't raise a fuss. I think Yuzu got to her."

"That's good," Ichigo said.

"So," Tatsuki started, "Did you manage to convince Uryū to take sword lessons with us?" Ichigo couldn't see her through Uryū but he definitely could imaging her shit eating grin.

"Yeah," Ichigo confirmed. The sheer hilarity that would be Uryū with a _sword_ helped wake him up.

Uryū groaned and covered his face with his blanket. "Shut up."

"Sorry," Ichigo and Tatsuki said. They weren't sorry at all.

"I hate you," Uryū muttered.

"Love you too," Tatsuki replied easily. She threw an arm over Uryū's waist and leaned up to look at Ichigo. "But really. It's ten and I have breakfast."

"Ugh, fine," Uryū said. He wasn't that upset. It was Yuzu's cooking after all. Yuzu's cooking was the _best_.

"Get ready. I'll set the table," Tatsuki said. She then got out of bed to do exactly that.

"Hey," Ichigo said into the silence. "You okay?"

Uryū blinked at him. He was farsighted, so there really was no way that he saw Ichigo as anything other than a fuzzy orange blob. But he could still make out where someone's face was.

"…I should be asking you that," Uryū said after a moment.

Uryū had grown up knowing about shinigami and what they did. Ichigo had learned of their existence literally three days ago. And then the war against Quincy just last night. There was also the fact that Mom hadn't told Ichigo _any_ of this. Ichigo, at the moment, had more reason to be upset than Uryū.

"I'm fine," Ichigo said. That wasn't entirely a lie. "A bit worried on what I'm going to tell Yuzu and Karin though." Because there was no way that Ichigo wasn't going to tell them this.

Uryū winced. "Yeah. I'll help."

"Thanks," Ichigo said. "…Should well tell the others?"

The others being Chad and Inoue. Inoue was already part of it, if only because of what happened last weekend. But Tatsuki would have told her anyways. But Chad knew about Ichigo's abilities and being a shinigami, but not of _this_.

"I feel like we should. They know everything else," Uryū said.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, "I don't like keeping secrets from them." Honestly, Ichigo would have probably told them anyways. But this was Uryū's secret too, and he deserved a say.

"What about your father?" Uryū asked. They wouldn't be telling Uncle Ryūken anything. They operated on an unspoken, mutually agreed, strict _need to know only_ basis with him.

Ichigo thought about it. "No, I don't think so. Dad's never… he's never been interested in knowing what's going on in our lives. He's too focused on the clinic."

Uryū hummed. He didn't say anything else. They both climbed out of bed after a moment. Uryū reached for his glasses on the side table. Ichigo immediately went to go look through his overnight bag.

"Well, shit," Ichigo said. "I forgot my school uniform." He could go home to grab it, but he _really_ didn't feel like it. Besides, Rukia might not let him leave without her. And he had absolutely no intentions of bringing her to the apartment.

"I think you have a spare here," Uryū said, "the skirt was torn, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Do you think you can fix it for tomorrow?" Ichigo asked as he grabbed his clothes for the day. He didn't think they were doing anything particularly active, so a graph tee and some shorts would be fine.

Uryū snorted. "Of course. But you'll need to get either new pants ore a new skirt anyway. You're hitting a growth spurt."

Ichigo blinked and looked down at his legs. "Really?"

"Yeah. You're about a centimeter taller," Uryū said. He was the best at noticing things like that. Ichigo shrugged and took that as fact.

"Sure. Shame, though. We're still first years." Ichigo said.

"Skirts should be fine," Uryū said. "If you buy pants, buy them a size larger. You'll grow into them that way."

Ichigo nodded. He frowned and placed his hands on his hips. They didn't feel wider, but it he was growing taller, it was probably only a matter of time. Mom had pretty wide hips. "Yeah, thanks."

When they finally went to go eat, Tatsuki had already set everything out. Ichigo smiled when he smelled the food. Yuzu made Uryū's favorites. Either Tatsuki told her something happened, or Yuzu figured it out for herself.

"…Can you thank Yuzu-chan for me?" Uryū asked.

"You can thank her yourself," Ichigo said.

"You'll have to get used to Rukia being around, Uryū," Tatsuki said.

"Especially since she's staying with us," Ichigo said.

"What?" Uryū asked, staring hard. "Why is she staying with you?"

Uryū would have learned this earlier if he wasn't avoiding them. Ichigo sighed. "Because Rukia is good at fake crying, apparently. And Goat-Face is still weak to that. But she's sleeping in the twins' room. They said that I have too many people over for it to be comfortable to have another person sleeping in my room."

"Thank the gods for small mercies," Tatsuki said dryly.

Uryū blinked. "They are going to kill her. Or traumatize her. They traumatized _me_ and I don't sleep in the same room as them."

Tatsuki smirked. "Why do you think they decided that? Besides, Rukia can take care of herself."

"She isn't scarred for life already?" Uryū asked curiously.

"It's only been a week," Ichigo said and rolled his eyes, "And the twins are not that bad."

"No, they're worse," Tatsuki said, "though they _have_ been on their best behavior. Rukia is still a guest."

Ichigo sighed. He knew that, objectively, the twins were terrifying. They grew up with Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Uryū as siblings. Having them around to help raise Yuzu and Karin apparently shattered any sort of sense of limits they might have otherwise had. Any restraint they showed was because they both normally found acting out too much of an effort. But the twins wouldn't actively _tease_ someone.

Or. Well… Ichigo decided not to worry. Rukia _could_ take care of herself.

 _Her_. Huh. He thought about it. It had been a while since he started using 'he/him/his' pronouns. And he wasn't- it wasn't uncomfortable, really, but it was. Sort of like wearing an old, comfortable, worn-down shirt. He could continue, because nothing really was wrong, or he could grab a different shirt. Just for the change.

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked when they were finished. "What's up?"

"Hm? Nothing, just thinking." Ichigo replied.

"About?" Uryū asked.

Ichigo hummed. "I'm thinking about switching pronouns," he told them.

"Huh," Tatsuki said, "really?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Not one hundred percent. But I'm thinking about it."

"Well, tell us when you decide," Uryū said.

"Of course," Ichigo agreed.

"So, Ichigo," Tatsuki started as she stood up to grab them all ice cream from the freezer. "How goes shinigami training anyways?"

"As well as I can hope for right now, I guess," Ichigo said. There really wasn't anything going on that he hadn't already told Tatsuki. "Rukia is just focusing on zanjutsu right now."

Uryū frowned. "Why did you have to get a sword in the first place?"

"I don't _know_ ," Ichigo did not whine, "but Rukia says that zanpakutō are a shinigami power. Or something. She said that shinigami are given blank swords when they enter their academy and then those swords absorb their spiritual energy. And since Rukia gave me her power…"

"Ichigo gets a sword," Tatsuki finished. "Though having a sword does not mean that he knows how to use it."

"It'd be easier if I had a bow," Ichigo agreed. "That zanpakutō feels wrong. I think it's actually Rukia's, adjusted to my height."

"…She literally gave you _her_ power," Uryū mused quietly. Then he looked serious. "How did she do that, exactly?"

Ichigo shrugged. There was a reason that he _hadn't_ told them, never mind that Uryū wasn't around to tell, either. And Ichigo really didn't feel like telling them _now_. So Ichigo was stabbed in the heart? Who cared? He's still alive and kicking.

Tatsuki frowned at him. "Ichigo," she said sharply. Uryū matched her stern expression.

Ichigo held out for an impressive twelve seconds under their combined gaze. He sighed and rubbed behind his ear. As much as he hated lying to them, Ichigo hated worrying them even more. And they really wouldn't let this go.

"Ichigo," Uryū repeated sternly.

"I may have been stabbed, no big deal," Ichigo said. He said it as quickly and as quietly as he could on the off-chance that they wouldn't hear him properly.

Yeah, right.

"Stabbed," Uryū said flatly.

"Stabbed, huh?" Tatsuki repeated.

They both looked at Ichigo like he was an idiot. Their faces were blank, but Ichigo could feel their fury- fury they felt on his behalf. Uryū's hands glowed as he gathered energy, as if here going to draw a bow. Tatsuki clenched and unclenched her fists as she wished for something to hit.

"It's fine. _I'm_ fine," Ichigo said. Because he would like or Tatsuki and Uryū to not attack Rukia. Ichigo wouldn't be able to hold them both off.

Tatsuki glared at him. "All right, then. Strip."

Ichigo blinked at her, thrown. It took him a second to realize that they might want to check him over for any injuries. "Uh, sure, okay."

He took his shirt off and put it on the table. He hadn't put on a braw yet so his breasts were bare to the world. Ichigo looked down and placed a hand over his heart. For all that he was okay, it was easy to remember the pain of a sword in his chest.

Uryū reached over and held out a hand. Ichigo looked up at Tatsuki and Uryū, and they both had a strange look on their face. "May I?" Uryū asked.

Ichigo shrugged, unbothered by his partial nudity. "Go ahead," he said, and put his hands in his lap. Uryū pressed two fingers over Ichigo's heart, fingers glowing with spiritual energy.

Ichigo didn't have any scars from that night. His clothes weren't stained with blood. He assumed that was because of how he changed outfits, from his school uniform to the black uniform of the shinigami. Or Rukia had some really good blood remover. Either way, other than the hole in the side of his house, there was no physical evidence of what happened.

"Nothing feels wrong, or even particularly changed," Uryū said, frowning. "At least, physically. The change to your _reiryoku_ and your spiritual energy is obvious."

"Makes sense though, right?" Tatsuki pointed out, "It is his spirit that got turned into a shinigami."

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was easier to give me a new power because I already had my own?"

Uryū sat back, and hummed. "Maybe. Put your shirt back on, Ichigo."

"That's a thinking silence," Tatsuki said, "It's not just that, is it?"

"No," Uryū replied. He looked pensive. "But I don't know yet."

"See, things like this is why I needed you around a week ago," Ichigo said. "Anyways, tell us when you get an idea, yeah?" He pulled his shirt back on.

"Of course," Uryū agreed. He blinked and mused, "I wonder if you can create your bow outside of your body?"

 _Ha_. Ichigo knew that Uryū would be more interested in what Ichigo could and could not do. If Yuzu got Ichigo's cheerful manipulation, then she got Uryū's made scientist streak. At least Ichigo could _tell_ Uryū about all of his ideas now.

"Probably," Ichigo said slowly, "It might be harder, though. I noticed that I leak more spiritual energy now."

Uryū snorted. "You do. We'll have to work on it."

"How about trying to see if you can make your spirit visible?" Tatsuki added. "I want to see what you look like."

Uryū looked thoughtful. "I'd like to see that s well. Especially that sword of yours, since it's apparently so oversized."

Ichigo sighed, though he was grateful to have Uryū around. "Yeah, yeah. You'll have to talk to Rukia though. I don't have a way to leave my body without that glove of hers."

Uryū grimaced. "I guess."

"Ha! You'll be fine, Uryū. Rukia's not that bad. Despite, you know, everything," Tatsuki said.

"Our definitions of fine tend to be very different," Uryū replied flatly. He didn't look like he was going to decline, though.

"Rukia really isn't that bad," Ichigo said, "a bit uptight, maybe. But I talked to the twins and we'll break her of that sooner or later."

"Is that so," Uryū said, smirking. He settled down. "Putting that aside. I want to see if there are any changes when you create a bow."

Ichigo frowned. "Ugh. Can't we just see how my physical bow works?" he asked.

Uryū nodded. "We can do that later. But you've got shinigami powers now. I'd like to see how they affect your Quincy abilities."

"Oh, this'll be fun." Tatsuki said, snickering.

She couldn't see spirits since she didn't have spiritual energy. But Tatsuki grew up with Ichigo and Uryū, and that made her more sensitive. She was also there when Ichigo and Uryū were learning the very basics. Tatsuki had watched as they got hurt and burned as they trained.

"Ichigo, bow," Uryū ordered.

"Fine. Quit being so pushy," Ichigo muttered, and went to grab his Quincy cross.

"Quit being so hesitant," Uryū replied automatically.

Tatsuki started laughing, the bitch.

* * *

"Good morning!" Inoue greeted them cheerfully the next morning.

"Morning," Ichigo replied, which Tatsuki and Uryū echoed.

"Good morning," Rukia greeted, smiling at Inoue. She was already fond of Inoue. Not that Ichigo could blame her. Inoue was incredibly easy to like.

At least the smiling was better than the frosty glare that Rukia greeted Ichigo with earlier. For all her continued lack of spiritual energy, Rukia managed to bring the temperature a couple of degrees around her.

"You look better," Tatsuki said, and poked Inoue's shoulder gently. Since her shoulder was the pink of a new scar, Tatsuki must mean Inoue's cheerfulness. A night on her own was probably just the thing she needed.

"It is good to see you well," Uryū said.

Inoue beamed at him. "Yes! My shoulder is much better now than last week. Kuchiki-san is amazing!"

Rukia sniffed imperiously to hide her blush. "I got top marks in _kidō_ ," she said.

"Kidō?" Uryū asked curiously despite himself.

Uryū and Rukia were awkward around each other, to Ichigo's _slightly_ worried amusement. Uryū, because Rukia was shinigami and all _that_ entailed. Rukia, because she remembered that Uryū had tried to kill her. She also had no knowledge about Quincy whatsoever. Ichigo had confirmed that as soon as he could.

"They are our spells," Rukia said. She looked like she was going to add something but refrained. Uryū nodded and didn't ask anything else.

"Hey, where's Chad?" Ichigo asked. They weren't late, so Chad still had some time. But it was unusual.

"I don't know," Inoue said, and looked worried.

"He'll be fine," Tatsuki said. She pat Ichigo on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. He was well aware of Chad's durability and strength. If there were anything that could _actually_ hurt him, they would know. Everyone would have probably heard about it on the news by now.

"Let's just head to class," Uryū said, "If Sado-san requires help, then he will ask."

Ichigo sighed as they started walking to homeroom. "Chad doesn't like asking for help. We know this."

"Strange. He takes after you, then." Tatsuki said.

"That is not true!" Ichigo denied.

"Because we browbeat you into it," Uryū said.

"Didn't they do that to you too, Ishida-kun?" Inoue asked glibly.

"…No," Uryū said.

"Oh, we did," Ichigo confirmed, smirking once attention was turned away from him. "We totally did."

"I hate you all," Uryū said flatly.

"It's okay, Ishida-kun! We love you too," Inoue said cheerfully.

Rukia didn't say anything, but she had an expression on her face. Ichigo recognized that look. Well then. If Rukia felt homesick and lonely, then Ichigo would just have to work harder to be friends with her. Like hell Ichigo was going to let anyone look that lonely around him. That just wasn't allowed.

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow at him wen she caught his eyes. She nodded, which was all Ichigo needed. Inoue was already fond of Rukia and Chad didn't have anything against her. Now Ichigo needed to get Uryū to tolerate Rukia more than he already did. Yuzu and Karin were already helping at home, and Dad's exuberance was good for some things.

Ichigo figured that everyone was more inclined to help since Rukia didn't say anything, or react, to Ichigo wearing a skirt.

Chad didn't come in for homeroom. He didn't show up for their next two classes, either.

Ichigo shared a look with the others, an noted their worry too. It wasn't like Chad to just… not come to class. If he was held up by something, he usually sent them a text so they didn't worry.

"I'm checking up on Chad after school," Ichigo told them at lunch. Rukia frowned at the mention of Ichigo skipping, but didn't disagree. _Ha!_ Ichigo knew that she liked Chad. It was impossible to _not_ like Chad.

"Where is Sado-san?" Mizuiro asked.

They all studiously ignored Keigo, who fawned over Rukia. She took his attentions with complete grace, and looked only marginally irritated. Ichigo really wasn't sure how she was so patient with him, considering that she had a temper. Though that might be because Keigo helped her figure out how things worked without judgment.

And then Keigo was kicked away. Rukia looked surprised at his sudden disappearance. They all looked up.

Ichigo blinked in surprise. Both at the appearance of this guy, but also that he had managed to sneak up on them in the first place. Ichigo recognized him, if only through sheer proximity. There were enough students at Karakura High that Ichigo didn't usually come into contact with any of the thugs. They came at him and Chad usually once or twice a week, but they all had different classes.

Why this guy was here, bleached blond hair and everything, so inconsequential that Ichigo didn't even register them, was a mystery.

"Kurosaki!" the guy bellowed. He pulled out brass knuckles. "You bastard! I've been quiet long enough! I'm the only one here that gets to have bleached hair!"

Ichigo sighed. Tatsuki and Uryū looked irritated. Mizuiro smiled, which meant there was probably a molotov cocktail in hand.

"But Ichigo's hair is natural," Rukia said, looking surprised. Ichigo was gratified that she got ready to hit the guy anyways.

"Oh, it is!" Inoue agreed cheerfully.

She was not daunted by the thug looming over them at all. She smiled beatifically up at him when he turned his attention to her. And her chest. Well, now they definitely had to get rid of the idiot- and before Inoue did it herself, too. None of them liked people that ogled Inoue.

Before anyone could move, the thug was punched. Then he flew through the air into the chain link fence along the perimeter of the roof. And then he fell to the ground and stayed there.

"Oh, hey Chad," Ichigo greeted automatically, recognizing his shadow. And then he saw the bandages. "Wait, what the hell happened? Are you okay?"

Ichigo stood up and started poking at the bandages. Gently, and with a practiced eye that he got working part-time at the clinic. There was the faintest smell of the cream Ichigo had given Chad for bruises. Nothing smelled like blood.

"What the hell happened to you?" Tatsuki asked and raised an eyebrow. "You look like you got run over by a car."

Chad grunted. "No, it was a motorcycle and I took that guy to the hospital."

"What?" Uryū managed and stared up at Chad. Ichigo stared at him. Even though they knew how durable Chad was, it was something else entirely to be presented with it. Only Inoue seemed to take that statement in stride, and that was because she got into the strangest accidents.

Ichigo frowned and poked at Chad's bandages again. It was about the only way to make his displeasure known without yelling. "Is that why you're covered in bandages?" he demanded.

"No," Chad denied, "those are from the steel beam that fell on me last night."

"A steel beam," Ichigo repeated faintly. He stepped back to look Chad in the eye. "And you didn't think to call?"

Chad, at least, had the decency to look sheepish. "I may have forgotten."

"Well, don't forget in the future," Tatsuki ordered. "You're tough, we get that. But you're sure friend too." Inoue and Uryū nodded in agreement.

"When did you get a cockatiel, Sado-san?" Mizuiro asked.

Ichigo blinked, thrown from his staring. He looked and- yeah, Chad was carrying a cockatiel in a cage. He had been so caught up with Chad being injured that he hadn't noticed.

"I got him last night," Chad said. He placed the cage down. Ichigo quickly handed Chad the extra lunch box that Ichigo made that morning before they both sat down.

"Did you get the bird at the same time you got injured?" Rukia asked. She gazed steadily at the bird.

Ichigo frowned. He focused and… oh, yeah. There was a spirit attached to the bird. He glanced at Uryū who frowned as well.

"Yes!" the cockatiel chirped, "Sado-nii-chan saved me last night!"

It was a kid.

That was a _child spirit_ attached to the bird. Ichigo sighed. He was already aware that the kid would be more trouble than they were worth. Ichigo would deal with it, though. It was a kid, so he really didn't have a choice.

Well. Ichigo had wanted Chad to know when anything important happened, even if he wasn't directly involved. Ichigo didn't count on Chad being the one to bring important things to _him_ though. That's what he got for doubting the universe.

"Hey," Ichigo said. He kneeled in front of the bird. "My name is Ichigo. What's your name?"

"Hello Ichigo-nee-chan!" the bird said. What a polite kid. "My name is Yūichi!"

Ichigo smiled and carefully opened the bird cage. After a moment, Yūichi hopped onto his finger.

"Nice to meet you, Yūichi," Ichigo said. He stood and placed the small bird on Chad's shoulder. Yūichi immediately relaxed and hopped closer to Chad's face. Ichigo grinned. He knew that the kid was attached to Chad. Being saved from a falling steel beam would do that.

"Hey kid," Tatsuki greeted, "I'm Tatsuki." That set off a round of introductions. Even Keigo had been brought back.

Ichigo steppe back to stand next to Rukia. She still watched the bird. "We're going to help him move on," he said. Ichigo didn't have anything against spirits sticking around, but there was… Ichigo had never seen a spirit interact with humans before. Not without something else being the cause.

Rukia nodded slowly. "The task will be easy. Getting there will be slightly more difficult."

"How so?" Uryū asked quietly.

"Because that child is attached to a living being," Rukia explained, "a bird, yes, but one that is capable of speaking."

Uryū frowned, "Which implied that there is a reason that Yūichi chose a bird."

"Shit," Ichigo sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. "I was expecting there to be something but. That sounds a bit worse."

"Of course," Rukia said, "we should be fine with Yūichi here for now. Keep an eye out. A spirit like Yūichi will attract hollows."

"Chad," Ichigo spoke up, "you're coming to my place after school. Got it?" At the very least to check Chad's bandages. He was good at taking care of himself, but it'd make Ichigo feel better.

"Fool, you have lessons with me after school today," Rukia said. She kicked Ichigo in the shin.

"Fine," Ichigo said and rolled his eyes. "Come by around dinner time. You can bring Yūichi if you want. My sisters would like to meet him anyways."

Chad and Yūichi relaxed. That made sense. Chad was protective of children and wouldn't want to separate from Yūichi. Besides, the bird was cute. Chad adored cute things to the point of embarrassment sometimes. Or, embarrassment in other people. None of Ichigo's friends did _shame_ very well.

"Okay," Chad agreed. Yūichi nodded too. Ichigo couldn't help but grin at the pair of them.

"Okay, now eat," Ichigo ordered, "we made that for you so you damn well better finish it."

With that, Ichigo turned to his own lunch. Ignoring Chad after giving him an order was the best way to stop Chad from protesting. That, Ichigo had learned not a month into their friendship. At least regarding his own health.

Chad paused but sat down with them. "Thank you," he said as he unwrapped his lunch. Ichigo knew that Chad would like it because he had made sure that they put in some of Chad's favorites.

"Why'd you have Yūichi anyways?" Keigo asked.

Yūichi hopped from Chad's shoulder to the top of the cage. Keigo started talking to him about nonsensical stuff. Ichigo always knew that Keigo was just a giant kid at heart. Well, at least he was keeping Yūichi distracted.

"A friend introduced us last night," Chad said, "after the steel beam fell, they handed him over. They said that I would be able to take care of him better."

"Sado-nii-chan is very strong!" Yūichi chirped.

"He is," Ichigo agreed, "though he might be a bit dumb since he didn't think to ask any of us for help."

Chad sighed, "I will try more in the future."

"You'd better. We worry," Tatsuki said.

"Hm. Well, we'll check your injuries after dinner," Ichigo said, 'I'm all for your inhuman durability, but I'd still like to look them over."

"I don't have anything beyond bruises and cuts," Chad said. He sounded vaguely offended that Ichigo doubted his medical skills. Ichigo just stuck his tongue out at him.

"That doesn't mean that it won't be easier with help!" Inoue said cheerfully. Chad deflated at her comment, which was why Inoue spoke up in the first place. Ichigo grinned at her.

Yūichi started giggling. It was an odd sound coming from a bird. Ichigo could almost see the image of a young child from the corner of his eye. Ah. It disappeared when he actually tried to focus on it.

Ichigo was pleased with how that conversation went though.

That night did not turn out to be so pleasant.

Ichigo swore as he helped carry bodies into their hospital beds. Yuzu and Karin were rushing back and forth, carrying supplies for Dad to use, and doing their best to keep everyone stable.

"We're just a clinic!" Dad yelled into the phone. Even as he yelled to the secretary at Karakura Main Hospital, Dad looked over those with the worst injuries. "Dammit! Just tell Ishida that Kurosaki is calling in a favor! Those beds _will_ open up!"

Uncle Ryūken loved being a doctor. It was his chosen profession, and luck had it that it was a career that his mother approved of such. He despised most of the rules and regulations that he had to follow as the director of a major hospital. He would have to look for loopholes- which Uncle Ryūken was familiar with- but he would help. The Kurosaki Clinic was way too small to deal with a major car accident!

"Fuck," Ichigo said and refrained from wiping at his brow. "Oi, Dad! We've just run out of beds!"

"Put clean sheets on the ground!" Dad yelled. He sewed someone up, a gash that bled sluggishly. "As soon as that's done, move people around! Worst injuries on the beds, cuts and scrapes on the floor! Keep them stable until the fucking ambulances get here!"

"On it!" Yuzu and Karin said. They retreated to the storage room and came out with armfuls of sheets. They hadn't touched anyone yet, so they were clean.

Ichigo swore and helped. What a terrible time for Tatsuki and Inoue to not spend the night over. Yet they were Kurosaki, and they moved forward.

It was a tense thirty minutes until the ambulances arrived. They took the majority of the victims to the hospital, and left the few that the clinic was actually equipped to handle. Eventually even those were cleared of concussions, their scrapes and bruises tended to, as family picked them up to be taken home.

"Shit," Ichigo said. He almost rubbed at his eyes before he caught himself. His hands were covered in blood.

"You did good," Dad said. He smiled tiredly at them. Dad sighed and pulled his gloves up. "Go clean up. We can eat after."

"Okay," Yuzu said. Both she and Karin blinked tiredly at them.

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed. They would not have appetites tonight, but they knew not to ignore food placed in front of them. "Grab the sheets you two. I'll start scrubbing."

"Okay," Karin said. She and Yuzu started picking up the sheets that served as beds. Then they stripped the actual beds. Damn, but they would need so much bleach to clean this up.

Ichigo went to grab the cleaning supplies. It was mindless, if tedious, so it was easy to just… go through the motions. Not think about it. Blood weirded him out, even though he was good at ignoring it.

"Ichigo," Rukia said. Ichigo blinked, startled to see her standing there. He looked at the clock- _huh_. An hour passed while they cleaned. "Here. It is not a meal, but it is better than nothing." Rukia handed Ichigo a glass of juice. The twins already had their own glasses.

"Thanks," Ichigo said. He honestly had forgotten that Rukia was even there. They had all told her to stay out of the way when the patients started coming in. That time was a haze of adrenaline and worry, but Ichigo thought he might have seen Rukia's surprise when Dad snapped at her.

Rukia watched them finish cleaning with an odd look on her face. She was enough of a busy body that Ichigo thought she would offer help, but it seemed like she kept their previous words to heart. Rukia sighed and grabbed their empty glasses before turning to the house. Rukia was careful not to touch anything.

"I'll make dinner," Ichigo told Yuzu. She spent the most time in the clinic of the three of them. After that disaster, she'd help Dad with the paperwork. Of the three Kurosaki children, Yuzu might be the one to actually inherit the Clinic.

"Okay," Yuzu said, relieved. She worried too much. Just because they all loved Yuzu's cooking the best did not mean that no one else could take care of themselves. Ichigo was the one to _teach_ her.

"I'll stay down here too, I guess," Karin said. She yawned.

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo agreed. He rubbed their hair with his now-clean hands before he went back inside. Rukia sat on the couch. She was quiet. "Oh, hey. You okay?"

"I'm fine," Rukia replied automatically. "I knew that this was a clinic, but it seems that I did not understand that until tonight."

"Makes sense," Ichigo said. Most of Dad's appointments would be during school hours. Ichigo shrugged. "We're small, but we can deal with pretty much anything that doesn't need surgery. We rarely need to though."

Rukia hesitated. "I was unaware that you are a healer."

"I am _not_ ," Ichigo said, and rolled his eyes. Him, a healer? He could stitch someone up decently enough, but that really was it. "I'm practically a glorified nurse."

"No, you are definitely a healer," Rukia denied. She looked at him thoughtfully, as if approaching a problem. "Your control over your spiritual energy is terrible. But, perhaps, _kaidō_ , is something you can work with more easily."

"Kaidō?" Ichigo asked. "Wait. Is that the energy you used to heal Inoue and Tatsuki last week?"

Rukia nodded. "Kaidō falls under kidō, as kidō is the broad term for our spells. Kaidō is both easier and harder to cast. Easier, since there are no incantations to memorize. Harder, because one must be intimately aware of the differences in energy to heal."

Well, fuck. Ichigo had terrible control so there was no way that this wouldn't somehow blow up in his face. But. He could _heal_. Maybe not well, and it would take more work, but he would have the ability. "I'd still like to learn," he said.

"Then I will teach you," Rukia said. She smiled. "You are exhausted, but that may help. And I can at least demonstrate."

"You sure? Your spiritual is still gone," Ichigo said. Perhaps because he still kept hold of it, Rukia's energy did not regenerate as quickly. And Rukia still held some tiredness from healing Inoue and Tatsuki.

"You are not physically or spiritually injured," Rukia said, "This requires no effort on my part. And, I am not trying to heal anything. It is just a demonstration."

Ichigo frowned, but sat down next to Rukia. "Okay."

"Hand," Rukia ordered. Ichigo placed his hand in hers. "Kidō are cast from the hands as a general rule. Due to the sensitivity in our hands and our fingers, it is the easiest way to learn the differences in all of our spells."

That made sense as a spell system. Quincy spells tended to focus less on the control aspect and more on the intent aspect, which was why Ichigo could actually cast them in the first place. And wards.

"I wonder if I'll be able to? My hands are pretty scarred from archery," Ichigo said.

"It is fine," Rukia said. She frowned and concentrated. "Your hands may be scarred in your body, and may have left the same mark on your soul. But swordsmanship does the same, and your hands are still functional. While hands are not required for spell casting, if recommended, it requires incredible control. Which you do not have."

"True," Ichigo agreed.

"Ah," Rukia sighed as her hands started to glow green. "Here we go. Your control over your spiritual energy is terrible. That does not mean that you are unable to _feel_."

Ichigo hummed. He didn't tell her that his spiritual sense wasn't the best, either, for all that he found it easy to keep track of his family. But Ichigo closed his eyes and concentrated. Ichigo could feel Rukia's spiritual energy against his hand. It was cool, like he had stuck his hand in the freezer. But it wasn't uncomfortable.

That wasn't entirely it, though, was it? There was… it wasn't _warmth_. No, that would be anathema to Rukia's entire spiritual being. Her presence. No, it was cold, but… More? Like… a cool drink on a hot day. Jumping into a swimming pool in the middle of summer. Something that was cold, but gave relief.

"I think I can tell," Ichigo offered slowly, somewhat awed. It was different than the energy he gave to bolster spiritual reserves. "At least, I can feel the intention."

Rukia pulled her hands away. Ichigo opened his eyes and the green glow dissipated. "That is good. Using kaidō is as much a mental state as it is manipulating your spiritual energy for healing. That is why healers are hard to come by, even considering that we are trained as warriors first and foremost."

"You aren't a healer?" Ichigo asked. He stood and walked to the kitchen. He needed to make dinner. Something simple but filling. Ichigo did not have the energy to do anything complicated.

"No," Rukia said, "I can cast kaidō as needed, and is required for all shinigami to know, but the Fourth Division did not offer me a position."

Ichigo frowned. Why the hell would shinigami give their medical division the number four? It seemed like both a great irony and a perfect fit. Though, Ichigo supposed it made sense since they were the apparently the medical division for spirits.

"How many divisions are there?" Ichigo asked absently as he started pulling out pasta. Western-style noodles would be good. Luck of lucks, his mother being quarter German made he and his sisters lactose intolerant. Rukia, he had noticed, ate whatever was put in front of her.

"Thirteen," Rukia replied. She said proudly, "I am an unrated member of the Thirteenth Division."

"Huh," Ichigo said. He wondered if each division had as set a role as the Fourth Division did. It would make sense. Rukia mentioned an other division. The Twelfth Division, that sounded like they dealt with technology.

"Onii-chan!" Yuzu called. She sounded worried.

Ichigo immediately put everything down and hurried into the clinic. Yuzu and Karin were holding Chad up, and Ichigo remembered that he was supposed to come by for dinner.

It would be a comical image if it weren't for the sweat covering Chad's brow. Or the fact that Chad looks seconds away from falling unconscious. Or that even so, he held the handle to the bird cage tightly in his fist. Ichigo frowned and went to take Chad from his sisters. He handed Yūichi's cage off to Yuzu.

"What the hell, Chad?" Ichigo murmured. He sagged under Chad's weight, but Chad was lucid enough to pick his feet up until they reached a bed.

"I'm sorry for troubling you," Chad rumbled quietly. Ichigo helped him take off his shirt, since his back seemed to be what troubled him. Dad entered the clinic soon after, frowning.

"No, you don't get to be sorry," Ichigo snapped. "You'd be sorry if you didn't come here. But never be _sorry_ asking for help!"

"Please don't be too hard on Onii-chan," Yūichi chirped sadly. He hopped in place and his feathers were ruffled. Wait, what happened that made Yūichi call Chad 'big brother' more familiarly?

"I'm not angry, Yūichi, just worried," Ichigo sighed.

Ichigo knew that Chad was looking for another part time job, so although he spent time at Rukia's sword lessons with everyone, he left far earlier too. But this was something else. It figured that the one time Chad left right after school was the one time that Chad actually ended up injured.

Oh, wait, no. There was that steel beam that happened last night. What was going on? It wasn't like Chad was normally a danger magnet-

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and very carefully did not look at Yūichi. Chad hadn't been this injured until the kid showed up. He wasn't blaming Yūichi, but… Chad also hadn't been so stubborn about receiving help, either. Chad has his pride but he also wasn't stupid.

Ichigo turned his attention to Chad's back. Dad was prodding at it gently. It looked like a giant burn and bled sluggishly. Ichigo scrunched his nose at the smell. Yuzu looked horrified and Karin looked sick.

"This was caused by a hollow," Ichigo said. He nudged his dad out of the way and placed his hands on either side of the injury. He started to channel his spiritual energy into the wound. It wasn't kaidō. But, replacing the hollow's spiritual energy with his own would at least prevent the injury from getting worse. And would actually help, since Ichigo _liked_ Chad, and spiritual energy tended to follow emotions and whatnot. Even when it wasn't meant to heal.

Dad frowned but didn't ask questions. He bandaged Chad's back with quick efficiency and put him on an IV. "You are staying the night," Dad ordered.

"He can stay in my room," Ichigo offered. It wasn't the first time.

"He should stay down here," Dad said, tiredly. "It'll be easier to keep an eye on him."

"Um," Yuzu said. She frowned at Ichigo. "What were you making? I can finish dinner."

"Oh, just some pasta," Ichigo said. He eyed her and she nodded at him. Yuzu wouldn't overtax herself then.

"Sado-nii-chan, you don't mind pasta, right?" Yuzu asked.

"No," Chad said. He carefully didn't look at Yuzu. Ichigo smirked. _He_ was immune to Yuzu's puppy eyes but no one else was. Even Tatsuki, who could put up a decent fight, gave into them eventually.

"Karin?" Ichigo asked when he stepped away from the bed. He didn't need to worry about Chad's injury too much. It was still a nasty wound, but without the hollow's spiritual energy infecting it, it could be worse. And Dad was good at what he did, personality aside.

Karin, however… she was pale, and Ichigo thought that it wasn't the sight of the wound as it first was. "Hm?" Karin asked and looked away from Yūichi. "Sorry. Hey, what's your name?"

"I'm Yūichi!" he chirped. Still downtrodden since Chad was injured, but happier now that Chad was tended to.

"Nice to meet you, Yūichi-kun," Yuzu greeted before she disappeared into the house.

"Yeah, what she said," Karin mumbled before following after her twin.

Ichigo frowned after her. He hoped that Karin was okay. She tended to overwork herself if no one reminded her to stop. Dealing with the car accident on top of dealing with the elementary school to get her co-ed score team going would be enough to make anyone tired. Hopefully dinner and a good night's rest would bring some color back to her.

"I'll redo your bandages tomorrow morning. Keep the IV in until it runs out, but you don't need to replace it." Dad said. All of Ichigo's friends knew the bare basics of medical care, including how to insert and remove an IV safely. Dad pat Chad on the shoulder. "Ichigo will keep you company until bedtime."

"Duh," Ichigo snorted, "I'll keep an eye on them." Because Yūichi wasn't going anywhere either.

"My son! So wonderful!" Dad wailed before heading inside.

"Chad," Ichigo said, and eyed him. Yuzu had put Yūichi's cage on an empty table next to the bed. "Where the hell did you come across a hollow?"

The only reason that Ichigo didn't demand to know why Chad hadn't called for help was because Chad had stumbled to the clinic. Obviously, with that kind of injury, getting _away_ was more important than taking the time to make a phone call. Considering how out of it Chad was when he made it to the clinic, he likely didn't think about it at all.

Chad didn't answer him.

Ichigo sighed. "Yūichi, why is there a hollow after you?" he asked. Gently, gently. This was a kid.

"There isn't a hollow after me," Yūichi said promptly.

"Why don't you pull the other one?" Ichigo asked. Though Yūichi may or may not know. Kids were smarter than most people gave them credit for, but sometimes they did things without thinking.

"Ichigo," Chad said. He looked mulish, which-

Okay, yeah. Ichigo could be the most stubborn of idiots. But he wasn't so stubborn that he refused to ask his friends for help. Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Uryū? They learned a long time ago that life was easier if they relied on each other. Inoue didn't even learn the lesson.

Chad was the newest in their little group, but it had been nearly two years. And Chad wasn't stupid or unreasonable, normally. Ichigo and Chad had made that promise. To fight for each other since neither of them liked fighting just for themselves.

"Chad," Ichigo said, going for serious. If Chad acted like he didn't remember that promise they made to each other, something else was going on. And Ichigo did not like that. "We promised, right?"

There was a lengthy pause. Chad sighed heavily and rubbed at his eyes with his free arm. "Yes. I'm sorry," he said.

"Promise?" Yūichi asked curiously.

"We promised that we would fight for each other," Ichigo said. He was relieved that Chad seemed more reasonable. And if _Ichigo_ was thankful, then it was bad. "Now, Yūichi, so I can keep my promise. Why is there a hollow after you?"

"…He isn't after me," Yūichi said after a moment. "It's just a game of tag."

"A game of tag isn't lethal," Ichigo said. Because if Chad didn't have his insane durability and strength, then Chad would be dead. And if tragic accidents like falling steel beams were a common occurrence, then there had to be other deaths. "Chad, who had Yūichi before you?"

"A friend," Chad said. Chad did tend to wander a lot, when not with them. "But they did say that Yūichi was cursed."

 _If a hollow is chasing you, then of course it would seem that way_ , Ichigo thought. That also explained why Yūichi was attached to a bird. What better way to inform others that they were in danger? Yūichi was too nice of a kid to do otherwise.

"Okay. It's safer here in the clinic than if you left. With the wards, we'll _know_ if a hollow gets close." Ichigo said.

"Thank you," Chad and Yūichi chorused.

"Yeah, yeah, thank me later." He started back to the house. "Now, it's nearly dinner time. You need to eat, Chad. You'll heal faster with food. And then we can figure out what to do about the hollow."

* * *

"Morning," Ichigo yawned when he went downstairs the next morning. "Is Karin okay?" he asked Yuzu. Karin didn't give Ichigo her usual response when he knocked on their bedroom door. Rukia had been waiting for him at the stairs.

"Karin-chan feels sick," Yuzu told him, brow furrowed. "She says she's well enough to go to school, but…"

"Is Karin sensitive to hollow energy?" Rukia asked as she stepped off the stairs behind Ichigo. "I could feel the hollow's spiritual energy even from upstairs when Chad arrived last night."

"No, she shouldn't be," Ichigo shook his head, "Karin is strong. If the hollow's spiritual energy was affecting her, she'd have affected it right back."

"I wonder what-" Rukia started.

"Ichigo! Sado-kun isn't here anymore!" Dad yelled from the clinic.

"What," Ichigo said flatly and ran to the clinic to check. Yup. No Chad and no Yūichi in sight. Ichigo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think that I am actually going to kill him."

"You won't," Rukia denied from behind him. She frowned. "What is the likelihood of Chad being at school?" she asked.

"Slim," Ichigo said. "I'll check anyways." If anything, he'd be able to catch up with the others before he went out searching. Tatsuki would help, since the others needed to keep good grades in school. Chad was injured, and Yūichi was being stalked by a hollow. Thankfully Ichigo texted the others last night. They wouldn't be surprised.

"Ichi-nii," Karin called. Ichigo turned and saw her taking the stairs step by step. She looked feverish, and tired.

"Karin? Are you okay?" Ichigo asked. He went to put a hand on her forehead. Karin had a fever, but it wasn't dangerous. Yet. She was shivering slightly. "You should go back to bed."

Dad was overzealous, but he wasn't a bad doctor. Ichigo wouldn't mind leaving Karin in his care while he was out looking for Chad.

Karin shook her head. "I'll be fine. I can go to school," she said stubbornly.

Ichigo was about to reply before his phone went off. ' _Sorry I left. Hollow can blow things up'_ was the text.

Ichigo stared. And then he started swearing. He forwarded the text to the others and then sent his own ' _Chad being an idiot. Require help to find him.'_

' _Seriously takes after you'_ was Tatsuki's response.

' _Okay!'_ was Inoue's response.

' _Already looking,'_ was Uryū's response.

"Okay, Rukia, let's go," Ichigo said. He yelled, "Oi, Dad, call the elementary to excuse Yuzu and Karin! I'm skipping!"

"What a dishonorable son!" Dad wailed from the clinic. He rushed to cry in front of Mom's poster. Ichigo ignored him. That was as much of a confirmation that he was going to get out of Dad.

Chad had been injured. _Chad_ , with his inhuman durability, who could survive things that would kill normal people. Ichigo quickly packed an extensive first aid kit. He had the feeling that someone would need it by the end of this.

Chad was a good runner due to his height. Ichigo decided that wearing something easy to run around in would be best. His uniform was comfortable, but his workout clothes would be better.

"Let's go," Ichigo said a couple of minutes later. He rubbed Yuzu and Karin's hair before he sped out the door. Rukia ran with him. "We can check all of Chad's usual places, first."

They ran around for twenty minutes before Rukia started slowing down. Huh, apparently her gigai had limitations. They walked, catching their breath and resting before they started running again.

"Where the fuck are you, Chad?" Ichigo muttered as he checked his phone.

No texts from Chad. He did get texts from Tatsuki, Uryū, and Inoue about places they had been. All together, it seemed that Chad hadn't gone to any of his usual haunts. That made sense, if Chad was trying to stay away from anyone.

Then Ichigo got a text from Yuzu.

' _Karin-chan left the house. She threw up. I'm looking for her.'_


	4. Chapter 4

There was a breathless moment as Ichigo stared at his phone. "Fuck," Ichigo swore, "I don't have _time_ for this." Ichigo forwarded the text to the others. They would keep an eye out for Chad, but Karin was his priority now.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asked.

"Karin is sick and left the house," Ichigo said.

He started pacing. Chad was in trouble, but so was his sister. It was Ichigo's job to look after his sisters. But- finding Chad, and dealing with the hollow, was important too. Especially with Yūichi in the line of fire too.

"Fuck it all. I can find both of them, and send Tatsuki after Karin while I go after Chad." Ichigo muttered. He stopped pacing and closed his eyes.

Ichigo _focused_ and extended his spiritual sense _out_. He had the largest range of spiritual sense out of everyone he knew with the ability. Because Ichigo's spiritual energy leaked _everywhere_. He ignored it mostly out of habit, and sometimes self defense, because Ichigo could _spread_ his awareness through that leaked energy. It was different than regular sight, because it added an extra dimension. Ichigo's brain interpreted the awareness as a 3D map in his head. He rarely used it because it required a lot of concentration and control. And the people that Ichigo felt the need to keep an eye on kept in touch through regular means.

That didn't mean that Mom, Uryū, and Uncle Ryūken didn't make sure that Ichigo could _use_ it. No matter how tiresome it was to use.

And so, fueled by determination, Ichigo had more control than he'd normally have. And so, Ichigo _sensed_.

 _There_.

Ichigo found Karin, easily, and her location as well. It was a matter of seconds to send her location to Tatsuki.

Now- Ichigo could feel Chad, distantly. He had made sure to memorize Chad's spiritual presence the moment Ichigo decided to keep him around. But it was Yūichi that Ichigo found first. The same spiritual energy that attracted hollows to wandering souls helped Ichigo find him now. And where Yūichi was, Chad would be.

Ichigo reached out and _grabbed_ \- Ichigo opened his eyes. Yes, there it was. His hand was clenched around the delicate white ribbon. Uryū could tease spiritual ribbons out of the air without trying. Ichigo had to try a little harder.

"Found you!" Ichigo grinned.

He tugged gently and the ribbon started waving in the wind. With the ribbon in his fist, he let the rest of his spiritual sense fade. Now he could focus only on getting to Chad. The ribbon started to float off into the distance.

"That was-" Rukia said, startled. Ichigo didn't have the time to pay attention to her.

"Let's go!" Ichigo said and started sprinting. Rukia cursed at him but he could hear her running after him. With the spirit ribbon, it didn't take Ichigo long to find Chad. There he was, jogging and carrying Yūichi's cage in one hand.

"Oi!" Ichigo yelled.

Chad turned to look at Ichigo and Rukia. And then he turned right back around and started sprinting.

"Oh, fuck you!" Ichigo shouted after him. He sprinted after Chad. Unfortunately, Chad was faster than Ichigo. It took everything Ichigo had just to keep in sight. Fuck it all, but Ichigo sometimes forgot how strong Chad was.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled from behind him.

"What?" Ichigo said irritably. He glanced behind him to see-

Karin.

Ichigo stopped immediately. Karin stood there wobbly. Her face was flushed and her eyes were half-lidded. It looked like it took all of her willpower just to stay standing. Rukia fretted next to her, worried.

How the hell did Karin even find him like _this_?

"Karin!" Ichigo said. He ran up to her and barely refrained from patting her down to see if she had any other injuries. "What are you doin-"

"Ichi-nii," Karin whispered. And then, horrifyingly, she burst into tears.

"Hey, hey," Ichigo said soothingly. He picked Karin up and held her to his chest. She was still small enough to do that. Karin curled into him and her hands clenched his shirt.

"Ichigo, take her back," Rukia ordered, "I'll go after Chad."

"You sure?" Ichigo asked. Rukia wasn't the fastest. He was amazed that she kept up as well as she did.

"Yes. If she stays, you won't focus on Yūichi or the hollow." Rukia said.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. His sisters were the most important people to him. Ichigo handed Rukia the first aid kid, careful to keep Karin steady. "Good luck," he said. Rukia would need it.

"You as well," Rukia said. She nodded at him and then took off after Chad.

"Okay. Let's get you home," Ichigo said. He pressed a kiss to Karin's forehead.

Karin was crying. She hadn't cried since Mom's funeral. Ichigo knew that was her way of trying to help her family, but it still broke his heart. Karin used to be an even worse crybaby than _Ichigo_. That said something, since Ichigo remembered how much he would cry when he was small.

Something terrible must have happened to make Karin cry. What, though, Ichigo didn't know. He didn't feel like asking at the moment. Not when keeping Karin comfortable was more important.

"Ichi-nii," Karin whispered. Her cheeks were wet from the tears. Her eyes were still wet, but at least she wasn't actively crying anymore.

"Hey," Ichigo said, smiling down at her. "How are you doing?"

"Ichi-nii, Yūichi, he needs to move on," Karin mumbled, "he can't be alone anymore. He needs to be with his mom."

"What?" Ichigo asked, startled. He almost stopped walking but kept going.

"Yūichi. H watched his mom get murdered in front of him," Karin said. She closed her eyes as a fresh wave of tears ran down her cheeks. It was starting to stain Ichigo's shirt now. "He's so _lonely_ , Ichi-nii. He can't be here anymore. He needs his mom."

Well. That explained why Karin was crying. Ichigo didn't cry, but his chest was tight and his throat burned. So, maybe he was crying. It didn't explain _how_ Karin knew, but that could come later.

"Okay," Ichigo said softly. He sent off a text to Yuzu. ' _Found Karin. Bringing her home'_. Yuzu would get home faster and would take care of Karin.

"Ichi-nii, you have to help him," Karin said. He looked up at him through her tears. "Please."

"Okay," Ichigo said. He smiled at Karin, though it probably looked awkward. "I promise, yeah? I'll help Yūichi move on."

"Okay," Karin agreed. She closed her eyes and curled in closer to Ichigo's chest.

"Onii-chan? _Karin-chan_?" Yuzu said when they reached the house. If she wasn't worried before, she was now. And surprised, too, considering that Karin currently looked terrible.

"Here," Ichigo said. He went inside and put Karin on the couch. He grabbed one of their throw blankets and wrapped Karin up. "Look after her, Yuzu. I have to go find an idiot."

"Be safe, Onii-chan," Yuzu said. She had already grabbed a clean washcloth and started wiping Karin's face.

"Ichi-nii," Karin whispered.

"I'm off. I'll see you guys later." Ichigo said. He rubbed Yuzu and Karin's hair. It was to comfort him as much as it was to comfort them. Then Ichigo turned on his heel and left. He still had Yūichi's and Chad's spirit ribbon in hand, so it was just a matter of getting there.

If Ichigo still felt like killing something after seeing his little sister cry? Then, well, it was his prerogative as Karin's older brother to do so. Ichigo made sure to send texts to the others that Karin as back home and safe.

He found Rukia first. A hollow was chasing her down, which explained why she was running _away_ from Chad and Yūichi. Rukia stopped running when she saw him. He waved at her and turned his attention to the hollow.

Well. Ichigo did feel like killing something. A hollow was awfully handy to have around.

"Are you giving up?" the hollow asked. Ichigo smirked when he realized that the hollow had _no idea_ that he was there.

"No," Rukia said. She mirrored Ichigo's smirk. "There's just no reason for me to run anymore."

Ichigo took that as his cue. He picked up a rock and threw it at the hollow's head. It bounced off. "Hey. Nice to meet you. You willing to trade opponents?"

"You!" the hollow shrieked. It sounded offended that he hit it with a rock. Well, tough luck, Ichigo was going to do more than that.

"Me," Ichigo agreed. Around his fury he was completely amused at its reaction.

Ichigo saw Rukia pull on the glove that allowed him to leave his body. He prepared to move out of the way if the hollow attacked suddenly. It was a flying hollow, so it was more agile than others. Well, at least there would be something like a challenge.

"Fine. If you want to be my opponent, then you can be my opponent! Prepare to be _eaten_!" the hollow shrieked.

"Ichigo," Rukia said. She ran at him with the glove.

It was all the warning Ichigo needed. He kneeled on the ground as Rukia smacked the glove against his forehead. Ichigo felt the disconnect between his spirit and his body. He felt his spirit being flung backwards with the force of Rukia's hit. It was those hours of practice over the week that Rukia put him through that made it instinct to do a backwards tumble to land on his feet.

The zanpakutō still felt awkward along his back, but its weight was comfortable to him now. Ichigo pulled it up and around, and settled into the most basic of stances. He was still hilariously bad at zanjutsu, but even a week's worth of practice was better than he had before.

Well, It was time to check whether or not Ichigo would fight more easily. He forgot his bow again, so the zanpakutō was all that he had.

"The hollow, Shrieker, has parasites. They can either explode upon contact, or release leeches that explode on command," Rukia told Ichigo. She moved his body to the side, where it was less likely to be hurt.

"Explosives, huh?" Ichigo asked. He grinned. "I'm used to explosives. This will be _easy_."

Ichigo leapt forward and brought the zanpakutō around in a large arc. It made the hollow move backwards, which was what he wanted. Ichigo could deal with explosives, but the further away they were from his body, the better. Rukia could dodge, his body could not.

The hollow tried to spit those lizard-explosives at Ichigo. The zanpakutō was large enough that it was simple to make them explode at a distance. He managed to knock some of them back towards the hollow before they blew up. Huh. Might be a useful trick to remember.

"Did you kill Yūichi's parents?" Ichigo asked. He dodged more explosives as he spoke, and parried others. It felt easier to speak like this even hen doing insane physical maneuvers in his spirit form.

Besides, Ichigo was too used to his _bows_ blowing up in his face for these paltry explosives to worry him. Ichigo tried to keep them away from the ground though. His body was there, but also hollows could affect the living world. Ichigo didn't want to fix bomb holes. There was already enough trouble without the authorities thinking they had terrorists around.

And then the hollow started to monologue. Before, Ichigo had been certain that villains monologuing was actually a trope of fiction. Didn't the hollow know that Ichigo talked at opponents to throw them off balance? But here the hollow was, talking at Ichigo like he gave a shit.

Well.

It turned out that the hollow didn't just kill Yūichi's parents. The hollow was a serial killer before he died- and Yūichi was the one that did him in. Ichigo frankly didn't care, other than that Yūichi was the one to do so. He'd died trying to save his mother.

The hollow then shoved Yūichi's soul into the cockatiel. The hollow promised that if Yūichi could run away from him for three months, then he would bring Yūichi's mother back to life.

' _That explains why Yūichi_ _said it was a game of tag,'_ Ichigo thought.

The hollow kept talking after that. Ichigo stopped listening. Actually, he didn't think much of anything. There was a roaring in his ears as Ichigo was lost to the sheer _fury_ he felt towards the hollow. It was like Ichigo wasn't entirely in control of his body, but that wasn't quite right. Ichigo was completely aware of what he was doing, there was just a distance between him and his actions.

It was after Ichigo finished cutting the hollow into little pieces that he finally noticed Chad. Chad stood over Ichigo's body with the first aid kit in hand, and Yūichi's cage in the other. He was also… staring at Ichigo? Wait- no, that wasn't possible. Besides, Chad's gaze wasn't as focused as it would be if he were _looking_ at Ichigo. Chad was looking in his general area, but not at him. Chad didn't have spiritual energy.

Before Ichigo could open his mouth to talk to Rukia, Ichigo was slam by an overwhelming presence. Ichigo turned and saw a massive gate materialize in the air above him. Each door was adorned by large skeletons wrapped in gray cloth. There were chains everywhere, both holding the skeletons to the gate, and the gate itself shut.

"What-" Ichigo started. He swallowed.

"Those are the Gates of Hell," Rukia said grimly. She stared intently at them.

"What?" Ichigo and Chad said. Chad was sweating, and not just because of what happened. Chad stared at the Gates too.

"A zanpakutō can only purify hollows that commit sins _after_ death," Rukia explained, "It can do nothing about the sins committed during life. And a soul that commits such disgusting acts in life are sent to Hell."

Ichigo could think about Hell existing in the first place _later_. The Gates opened and Ichigo couldn't help but shiver. The power rolling out of the Gates was intense.

The hollow appeared then, shrunken in on itself. Before Ichigo could figure that out- the hollow had dissolved in particles- the skeleton _moved_. The extended their bony arms, swords clenched in each hand. And then those same swords were stabbed through the hollow. They then threw the hollow inside the Gates before the doors slammed resolutely shut, the sound resonating through the sky. As the ringing faded, so did the Gates.

The overwhelming presence disappeared. Ichigo sighed in relief.

"Ichigo!" Uryū shouted. Tatsuki and Inoue were with him. Uryū must have felt Ichigo fighting to lead the others here more accurately. "I saw the Gates. What happened?"

"I killed a disgusting bastard is what I did," Ichigo snarled. He paused, aware that Uryū didn't need him snarling. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. He placed the zanpakutō on his back, and paid close attention to the sensation of it settling. "The hollow was a serial killer before he died. Turns out, that means you go to Hell."

"Hell exists?" Tatsuki asked.

Ichigo, Uryū, and Rukia all turned to stare at her. Inoue just nodded.

"You can hear me?" Ichigo asked incredulously. He looked at Chad, who was _still_ staring in his general direction. "I thought Chad was looking at me too."

"Um," Tatsuki said. She glanced between Uryū and Rukia. "Sorry?"

Ichigo sighed. Of all the times for Tatsuki to act meek. Not that he could blame her. "Tatsuki. Yes or no. Can you hear me?"

"Yes?" Tatsuki offered after a long moment. She tilted her head the way she did whenever she tried to hear something. "It's like hearing you through a really bad radio. That's out of sync. If this was a video game, I'd say that I have some serious lag."

"…That's new," Uryū managed.

"…Before we discuss these new revelations," Rukia said, "Can we please deal with our wayward spirit?"

"Me?" Yūichi asked. The poor kid had been silent during the hollow's rant.

"Yeah, you," Ichigo said. He was still furious on Yūichi's behalf, but he could deal with that later. Especially since the hollow was in Hell now. Which existed.

"The hollow is the one that placed you in the bird," Rukia said gently. She held out the hand with the glove. "I can take you back out."

Yūichi hesitated. He glanced at Chad and nodded. "That would be nice."

"Okay," Rukia said.

She placed her finger against the crest of the cockatiel's head. She poked firmly and then Yūichi was ejected from the bird's body, and landed on his backside. The cockatiel chirped in obvious confusion. It settled down when Chad put it back in the cage.

Yūichi picked himself up, and looked down at himself. "Oh," Yūichi said, "I remember. I died when I fell off the balcony."

There was a pause as everyone registered that. It was one thing to know that this kid was dead. It was another to realize exactly what that meant. Ichigo bit his lip and very determinedly did not react.

"Your Chain of Fate is severed," Rukia said simply, "and you should move on to Soul Society. It is a nice place, and a lot better than the World of the Living. You will never go hungry there."

That sounded vaguely like an advertisement. Rukia was using her sugary voice, too, which Ichigo still round creepy. Either she was lying through her teeth or was taught to say this to wayward souls. He wouldn't be surprised by the latter, especially if they really did have an Academy.

Ichigo sighed and knelt in front of Yūichi. "If your mother isn't here, then is't likely that she's over there," he said, "and if you move on, you'll have a much better chance at meeting her than if you stayed here."

Yūichi paused as he thought it over. "Okay. I don't mind going."

Ichigo pulled the zanpakutō off of his back. "Look here. The blade is what purifies hollows. But the hilt has a special seal that takes spirits to Soul Society," Ichigo told him, "I just have to press the hilt against your forehead and you're off."

"Cool," Yūichi said, eyes shiny as he stared at the sword. Then he glanced at Chad, almost shyly. "Um. Can I-?"

Ichigo smiled. The kid really was cute. "Yeah. Hold on, I can help with this too," he said. He placed his hand on Yūichi's shoulder. It was easy to make him visible to Chad. Ichigo had a lot of practice with Naomi. "Go ahead. You don't have to leave _right_ now."

"Thanks, Ichigo-nee-chan!" Yūichi said and then ran to Chad. "Onii-chan!"

"…Yūichi," Chad said. He looked completely startled, and glanced between Ichigo and Yūichi. Then Chad knelt down so that he was closer to Yūichi's height.

"Thank you, Onii-chan," Yūichi said. He hesitated, and then threw himself onto Chad, hugging him tightly. Ichigo laughed at Ichigo's surprised expression before Chad wrapped Yūichi into a hug.

"Not a problem," Chad promised when they finally let go of each other. "The next time we meet, I can carry you around again."

Yūichi beamed. Yup, absolutely adorable. "Of course, Onii-chan!"

"Ready to go?" Ichigo asked when Yūichi walked back to him.

Yūichi nodded. "Yes, please."

"Okay, here we go," Ichigo said. He pressed the hilt of the zanpakutō against Yūichi's forehead.

Unlike the first Soul Burial that Ichigo had ever witnessed, this one was a lot more understated. The seal appeared briefly on Yūichi's forehead before his body faded and turned into a Hell Butterfly. The butterfly flapped its wings once, twice, and then it was gone.

"Goodbye," Chad said quietly.

Ichigo stood up and leveled Chad with a look. Although Ichigo was certain that Chad couldn't see him, Chad still looked up.

Ichigo sighed and glanced at Rukia and Uryū. "Make sure Chad doesn't fucking run away again. He's more injured than he was because of that stupid fucking hollow."

"Sado-san, Ichigo wishes us to tell you that you are returning to the clinic with us," Uryū said. Tactfully. Tatsuki snorted.

"I understand," Chad said. He looked aware that Uryū was giving him the very polite version of what Ichigo wanted.

"Good," Ichigo said. He walked to his body, which thankfully had remained out of the way during the fight. It didn't feel as odd to slip in and out of his body anymore. That was a positive thing, he supposed.

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked.

"I'm here," Ichigo said. He sat up and groaned as he stretched his arms. He was uninjured but he'd still feel sore in the morning. "And still pissed off, honestly."

"Understandable," Uryū said. Then he said, "So. Those were the Gates of Hell."

"Apparently," Ichigo said. He winced as he got to his feet. Yup, definitely sore tomorrow. "Ugh. They wanted nothing to do with _me_ , but that spiritual energy was vicious."

"Yeah," Tatsuki agreed, "I couldn't see or hear anything, but. That heaviness in the air was intense."

Inoue nodded. She poked her pointer fingers together. "It didn't feel nice at all," she said.

"You all felt that?" Rukia asked. She frowned. "I have heard that spiritually strong beings affected humans enough that they started gaining their own spiritual awareness and abilities. It is why unseated officers like myself are sent to the World of the Living rather than our commanding officers…"

Ichigo shared a glance with Uryū and Tatsuki. Ichigo shook his head before Uryū started asking questions. Rukia tended to offer information absentmindedly but would clam up if asked directly about Soul Society. Ichigo was still trying to figure out what mood Rukia had to be in to answer questions.

"But why would everyone be getting their own abilities _now_?" Uryū asked instead. "Ichigo has always had terrible control over his spiritual energy."

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, "And Tatsuki has been around me since we were four. If she were going to gain her own spiritual power, she'd have gotten them a lot sooner than this."

"Maybe it is because Ichigo's power has changed," Rukia offered. She started walking back towards the clinic. They all followed her with nothing better to do. "Before, despite leaking spiritual energy constantly, it was a power that you were used to. Your bodies adapted, so to speak. But now that Ichigo's power has changed, the natural adaptation is not working as it did previously."

Uryū frowned. "That is a good working theory."

"It's the best we got," Ichigo said. He shrugged, aware of all of the holes that theory had. "I'm mostly interested in figuring out what _kind_ of power you're all going to get, if it develops further. None of you are Quincy." Even if Tatsuki did have the training. Maybe she'd be able to use her bow like Ichigo did his?

"And you're the only shinigami, Kurosaki-kun," Inoue said. She smiled brightly. "I want to fly! With rockets! And throw missiles around!"

"I doubt you'll end up a giant robot, Orihime," Tatsuki pointed out. "It'd be cool if I ended up with giant boxing gloves, though," she mused.

"More like terrifying," Ichigo said, "though some sort of fighting aid seems likely."

"No," Rukia denied. She shook her head. "Spiritual power can be… _surprising_. My only basis of comparison are zanpakutō of other shinigami, but there are still a large amount of unique powers."

"Is that why you feel cold?" Ichigo asked. Snow and ice. That's what Rukia tended to feel like, even as weak as she currently was. Uryū nodded in agreement.

Rukia blinked at Ichigo in surprise. "Ah, yes. My zanpakutō is _Sode no Shirayuki_. She is an ice type zanpakutō. There are only two other ice types that I know of in Soul Society."

"You make zanpakutō sound like Pokemon," Inoue said cheerfully.

"…Your zanpakutō has a name?" Ichigo managed to ask.

Well, shit. Ichigo very carefully didn't think about the zanpakutō he was using as his own. Did that mean that Rukia's powers were coming back so slowly because of _him_? Did Ichigo having her zanpakutō mean that her spiritual energy wasn't coming back as quickly as it should?

"Of course," Rukia said proudly, "Not all shinigami learn their zanpakutō's name, though. So there is no need to worry about having to learn your own."

Ichigo let out a strangled sound. That was making it _worse_! He knew that people tended to name their weapons. _Ichigo_ named his bow. Uryū named his bow. Named things gained an added boost both magically and spiritually. It just turned out that zanpakutō were actual _people_. At least, Ichigo figured- you generally didn't gender non-sentient things.

Sword-people. People in swords? Swords that become people? Because zanpakutō were previously called _asauchi_ , if he remembered correctly. That implied they only gained sentience later. Zanpakutō held their wielder's power- maybe it was a loop effect?

"I believe that Ichigo is worried that, because you gave him _your_ power, that his constant use of that zanpakutō is hindering the return of your spiritual energy," Uryū said.

Rukia frowned and shook her head. "No, that is not how it works. Sode no Shirayuki may be her own _person_ , but we are the same _being_. Ichigo may be using the blade, but my zanpakutō remains with me. My spiritual energy and power will return as time passes."

Ichigo sighed in relief.

"Does this mean that Kurosaki-kun will get his own zanpakutō?" Inoue asked. "He currently has your power. Since he is a shinigami, that means he should get a zanpakutō too, right?"

"I don't know," Rukia admitted. She looked lost. Unseated officer, right. She did _not_ know the entire workings of shinigami. "I do know that there have been substitute shinigami in the past. But it was a long time ago, before I became a shinigami. I do not know how it will work for you, Ichigo."

"Well, Ichigo has always flown by the seat of his pants. It's not entirely new," Tatsuki said. "It's not new to any of us, either. Cheer up, Rukia. We'll be fine."

Rukia smiled, amused. "I imagine so."

"Wait," Ichigo said, and stopped for a moment in the street. "Does this mean that we get to train you?" he asked at large. Ichigo grinned at the others vindictively. Uryū smiled as well when he realized where Ichigo was going with this.

Tatsuki smirked. "Duh. But don't think that we won't kick your asses."

"It'll be fine!" Inoue agreed cheerfully.

"I am looking forward to what may happen," Chad said.

"Oh, so am I," Uryū said, smirking. "So am I."

* * *

"Wow," Inoue said as she looked over the notebooks that were open on the kitchen table. "These are so cool!"

"Thank you," Uryū said as he placed a fresh copy of the ground plan of Ichigo's house on the table. It was already labeled, from areas that needed extra attention to the points that were cornerstones. Ichigo and Uryū knew exactly where to place the wards. "Since we have to redo everything from scratch, we may as well do it _right_."

It was another week since the revelation that Tatsuki, Inoue, and Chad were developing their own spiritual energy. Though surprising, it was something that they all took eagerly. None of them liked sitting out on the sidelines, regardless of how much they personally liked fighting.

"Why from scratch?" Inoue asked curiously, looking up from well-loved pages. And these were the newest ones, too. Their first notebooks had even worse handwriting and note-taking.

"Because, somehow, the wards were _broken_ the night Rukia arrived. It's why the hollow was able to attack at all." Ichigo growled. He still didn't know how that happened, which terrified him. Uryū said that they anchors were shredded when he checked on them. They had even gone to see Uncle Ryūken about it, though he didn't tell them much.

Uryū said that Uncle Ryūken knew _something_ about it. Not the how, maybe, but definitely the why. Uryū would have demanded answers, but said that he recognized the glint in Uncle Ryūken's eye- it was one that both Ishida got whenever they felt particularly vindictive about something. Uncle Ryūken probably wouldn't tell them anything, but he _would_ take care of it.

"Oh," Inoue said, looking worried. "That's not good, is it?"

"No," Ichigo agreed, "Thankfully Uryū put up some temporary wards last week, and I added some extra ones after."

Uryū flipped through the notebooks he had, taking down notes as to which ones would be useful for their current goal. "They're not meant for long-term though, which is why we're doing this now. Not that I'd be happy without personalized ones." Uryū told them.

"Personalized?" Chad asked, looking up from his own notebook.

"There are ward bases for everything that can also _work_ for anything, but having them designed specifically for a location makes them that much better." Tatsuki said, looking up from her own note-taking. This was the first time that she'd be involved in placing the wards. Before, she only helped with research. Ichigo was glad to have her.

"And it takes spiritual energy?" Inoue asked, finger tapping the edge of the table.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, "Which is why you're here."

"We have spiritual energy now, no matter that it's still developing," Tatsuki said, "Which means that hollows will be attracted to us now. We'll need our own wards."

"Well, you two will. Tatsuki's house is already covered with them," Ichigo said. He spent enough time at Tatsuki's house that it had been an incredibly smart idea.

"Like Rukia's kidō," Chad observed.

Uryū made a face that made Ichigo wish he had a camera, but Uryū noticeably didn't _disagree_. "I'm not entirely sure. Kidō seems to be focused on immediate physical responses. Wards are placed as long-term protection and concealment, and have the capability to evolve along with its inhabitants."

"Shinigami have been around long enough that they probably have an equivalent, but I have no idea what it'd be," Ichigo mused. "But Quincy and humans in general focus on anchors that hold the wards in place."

"Oh! Like _ofuda_!" Inoue said brightly.

"Exactly like," Uryū said, smiling at her. "That's actually where the basis for our own wards come from. Ichigo and I may be Quincy, but we do live in Japan. If done well, combinations of different paths work better in tandem."

"Cool," Chad said. "How do you personalize them?"

"Well, we start by deciding _what_ we want in the first place," Uryū said, and twirled his pen, motioning with his free hand to the notes he had taken. "It's why we pulled our notebooks from the last time we did this. Starting from scratch doesn't mean that we start from _nothing_."

"What do we want?" Inoue asked. "I mean, I'm sure that you already know what you're doing. But what about Sado-kun and I?"

"That's why _we're_ here," Uryū said. Ichigo nodded in agreement. "You don't have to do this alone. No one should ever need to."

"Mom taught Tatsuki and I, and Uryū had his parents teach him," Ichigo added. "We're the ones teaching Yuzu and Karin now that they're old enough."

In fact, they were currently putting together their own ward for their room. It was like an exam that Ichigo and Uryū were putting them through. They'd check it over before they placed everything to see how they understood it all.

"Families and Clans are a _big_ thing," Tatsuki said, "You think you understand what that means, but when you have spiritual energy and traditions to uphold, it's much more _intense_."

"Ah," Chad said, sounding as if he realized something. "Does this mean that you shouldn't be teaching us?"

"Well, if we were being _very_ traditional, no, we wouldn't," Uryū said. And the Ishida family were a bit more traditional than the Kurosaki. Uryū was more aware of what rules they were breaking than Ichigo.

"But we're _us_ , so," Ichigo shrugged. Inoue and Chad thought it over and then nodded as if that answered all of their questions. To be fair, it did, especially with how well they knew Ichigo and what he considered trouble. Besides, Inoue and Chad were family. Ichigo would be more upset at leaving them ignorant than teaching them.

"Is that why Kuchiki-san isn't here today?" Inoue asked. It was a good question, since Rukia was slowly integrating herself into the group. She was never too far from Ichigo, especially with her glove on hand. In fact, it had been a couple of weeks since they _weren't_ in the same building.

"No," Ichigo denied. He paused. "Well, yes. But Rukia had some other errands to run today. We told her that we'll be discussing Clan stuff, so she said she'll come back around dinner time."

"Not that it's _all_ Quincy stuff," Tatsuki said. "Yes, we'll be talking about it. But there's also the stuff that anyone can learn if they went looking."

"Like ofuda?" Inoue asked again.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed.

"Getting back to the point," Uryū said amusedly. "We've all been to your apartments enough times that Ichigo and I have the general layout of where your own anchors should go, but we'll need to double check."

"We'll be the ones doing most of the work this time," Ichigo said. "At least the planning stuff."

"You're here to start understanding what goes into long term wards by watching what we do" Uryū said. "And to start, we need the _base_ , which is the simple ward that everything else will be added to."

* * *

Ichigo woke up and blinked blearily up at the ceiling. His alarm beeped loudly. And it was _his_ alarm, not the apartment's, because he could see his poster hanging up out of the corner of his eye. Ichigo would have gotten up to stop it if Tatsuki wasn't pressed against his side like the annoying heat leach that she was.

Thankfully Uryū was there. He threw an arm out and hit the alarm. Ichigo was prepared to just go back to sleep, but Uryū sat up and put his glasses on.

"No," Ichigo said. "Sleep." He tried to push Uryū back down onto the bed with his free arm. It ended up more of a gentle push.

"Ichigo, Tatsuki. Get up," Uryū said. Tatsuki grumbled and pressed her face closer into Ichigo's shoulder.

There was giggling from the floor. "I knew Tatsuki-chan was adorable in the morning, but I didn't know that Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun were!" Inoue said cheerfully. Way too cheerfully. But Ichigo liked Inoue, so his rude hand gesture in her general direction was less rude than if it were Tatsuki or Uryū.

There was humming. A deep bass- well. It seemed that Chad was up, too. The humming was amused. Ichigo didn't have the energy to wave a different rude hand gesture in his direction.

"Get up," Uryū repeated. There was rustling, and a couple seconds later, the lights were on.

"No," Ichigo groaned and threw his arm over his eyes. Though he noticed that it was _Inoue_ that turned on the lights. The traitor. Who knew that she could be so cruel?

"Too bad," Uryū said. He pulled the duvet from over Ichigo and Tatsuki. It wasn't cold, but it definitely wasn't as comfortable. "We've got school today."

"No," Tatsuki said shortly and turned over.

"Okay then," Uryū said. And then because Uryū was pure evil, he set the alarm off again. But he also placed a silencing ward as not to disturb the rest of the house; there was that slight muffling feeling that Ichigo got. Uryū was _helpful_ like that. "I'll go help Yuzu-chan with breakfast."

"Oh! I'll help too," Inoue said.

"I will as well," Chad said. Ichigo could hear the promise not to let Inoue poison them, even as he heard Chad climb to his feet.

"I hate you," Ichigo mumbled, and grabbed his pillow to shove his head under.

Ichigo managed an impressive couple of minutes with his head buried under his pillow before the alarm got to him. Tatsuki, lucky her, was an incredibly heavy sleeper. Having her head both shoved into Ichigo's shoulder and under her pillow gave her enough insulation that she wasn't moving.

Ichigo sighed and sat up, managing to reach over to turn the alarm off. Like he expected, there was a small glowing ward placed on the side table. It faded as soon as the alarm was turned off.

Ichigo _was_ tempted to climb back into bed. But Uryū, damn him, was right. They had school. And they had extra guests today, even if Inoue and Chad both thought how he and Tatsuki acted in the morning was amusing.

"Ichigo," Tatsuki said, voice muffled from under her pillow. She did get up easily, even if she didn't like to. "Why?"

"Because it's a school day, like Uryū said," Ichigo said. He took the pillow from her. Tatsuki covered her face with her hands. "We can complain at Uryū later."

"Fine," Tatsuki groaned, and slowly rolled out of bed. Her feet and then her knees hit the floor. "Don't wanna though."

"Neither do I," Ichigo said, and went to his closet to pull out his uniform. Yuzu had done laundry Saturday evening, so it was freshly clean.

"Ugh," Tatsuki said.

"I know," Ichigo agreed and threw one of Tatsuki's spare uniforms at her.

Karin was already downstairs when both Ichigo and Tatsuki got there. She was sleeping on the couch, snoring lightly, but she _was_ dressed and ready to go. Ichigo smiled at the sight; Karin was probably too excited that Tatsuki spent the night to stay in her room.

"That smells good," Tatsuki said when they reached the kitchen. "Do you guys need any help?"

"No thank you, Onee-chan!" Yuzu said, looking up from her spot at the stove. Chad was setting the table, and Inoue was at the toaster with a pile of bread next to her. Rukia was dutifully buttering toast. Ichigo smelled eggs. A Western style breakfast, then.

Tatsuki went to wake up Karin when Yuzu declared breakfast done. Karin grumbled, but she was still too happy that her favorite person was in the building to put up much of a fight.

"So, Karin, how goes getting your co-ed team going?" Ichigo asked. It had been a couple of weeks, which was definitely enough time to change _something_. He'd be disappointed if nothing had.

Karin grinned viciously. "I've got it going! They're being rude and giving me all of the paperwork, but Sensei is being nice and making sure that it _sticks_. I'll be able to accept club and team members in a week or so."

"That's good. You got any people ready to go?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yeah. Six, right now. I'm going to be Captain, but I think I have a good spread for the other positions." Karin said.

Breakfast went on as usual. It was louder with everyone there, especially Dad, but Ichigo wouldn't trade it for the world. He loved his family, he really did. Karin was definitely more energetic with Tatsuki there, which made the trip to the Elementary school more entertaining. Especially with how all of the local thugs nearly ran away from their combined group.

"Don't be too mean to your teachers today," Ichigo told Yuzu and Karin.

"We won't," Yuzu promised. Ichigo eyed her for a long second before nodding. Plausible deniability, or whatever.

"See you later!" Yuzu and Karin called before heading inside.

"They grow up so fast," Tatsuki said, smiling fondly. "Didn't really notice before."

"We spend too much time with them, really," Uryū said.

"You sound like a bunch of old people," Ichigo snorted. Tatsuki punched him in the arm while Uryū glared at him. Inoue giggled at something she imagined. Probably about them being old people.

It was looking to be a good day.

* * *

"You look well rested, Ichigo-san," Mizuiro commented during lunch.

"I _am_ well rested," Ichigo said.

And he was. He really, truly was. And it was amazing. If he was tired right now, it was because they had spent the entire day yesterday setting up the wards. Ichigo had been stressed and knew he had been stressed, but he just didn't realize how _much_ until they had good, solid wards protecting them. Half the reason that Ichigo didn't want to get up this morning was because he could honestly say that that was the best sleep he had in _weeks_.

"That's good," Keigo said, and pointed his chopsticks at Ichigo. "You get really mean when you're stressed for that long."

"Mean?" Ichigo asked amusedly. Keigo was used to his casual and affectionate violence, and had a different standard of 'mean' than most others did.

"Not to us, no," Mizuiro said, "But the thugs that follow you around have definitely noticed."

"They have been bothering me less, lately," Ichigo mused. He hadn't noticed acting any differently than he normally did.

"So you fixed your wards?" Mizuiro asked curiously.

"Yeah, _finally_ ," Ichigo said. "In fact-"

"Ichigo," Rukia called, walking intently towards them from the entrance to the roof. "I've got something for you."

"Where've you been?" Ichigo asked, even as he held out a hand for Rukia to drop whatever it was she held.

"I was double checking that Soul Society registered that it was _me_ who killed the hollow Shrieker instead of you," Rukia told him. "Thankfully, they did. And I bought this with the extra funds the bounty gave me."

"What is this?" Ichigo asked as he held up the item. Bounty? There were _questions_ there. Like the fact that Rukia had said previously that she was unable to send messages home. Was it automated or something?

It was a small sphere, iridescent blue in color, with swirls of lighter turquoise. It looked like a marble, but it was smooth, almost unnaturally so, softer than any glass that Ichigo had ever felt before. And-

"Ichigo, that thing has _spiritual energy_ ," Uryū said, startled. He peered closer at it.

It did. Ichigo had to focus a little to _feel_ it, but the sphere in his hand was warm with spiritual energy. It was dense, but it seemed that the glass-like shell was what masked the energy. In fact- "Does my spiritual energy mask it?" Ichigo asked. "I mean, more than it normally would."

Uryū frowned and reached forward to hover his hand over the marble. "Yes," he said after a moment.

"That is how it was designed," Rukia said.

"Designed?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, this is soul candy," Rukia said, "Soul candy was developed as a tool for shinigami to use on the field. There are some spirits that are stubbornly attached to their bodies. Soul candy puts an artificial soul in that body, ejecting the spirit and allowing the Soul Burial to take place. It has the added benefit of allowing shinigami to fight hollows freely without worrying about damaging their gigai."

"Sounds useful," Inoue said.

"They are, yes," Rukia said. "Ichigo is still alive, so I thought that acquiring one for him would be the best course of action."

Ichigo blinked at Rukia, then at the soul candy, then at his knees. They were covered by his pants, but his legs were mottled with bruises. Bruises were typical for Ichigo due to his active lifestyle, but normally that lifestyle didn't include dropping to the ground every day or so. He couldn't catch himself if _himself_ wasn't in his body.

"Thank you," Ichigo said as sincerely as possible. Because dammit, not having to go through as much bruise cream would be amazing.

"Try it," Rukia ordered. "You swallow it."

Ichigo frowned at her to let her know what he thought about _that_ , but popped the pill into his mouth. He grimaced as he felt it, that disconnect he normally got when Rukia shoved her glove into his forehead, but instead it came from _inside_.

"That was one of the weirdest things I've ever felt in my _life_ ," Ichigo groaned.

"But it worked," Rukia said.

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked, staring between his body, and Ichigo. His _standing_ body.

"Holy shit it worked," Ichigo said. He was standing, which was a nice change of being pushed out of his body. And his body was there, too.

"Hello," his body said. "Nice to meet you!"

"It sounds nothing like you," Tatsuki said. Well, Ichigo had no idea, since he never really listened to recordings of his voice. Though Ichigo could tell that his body wasn't affecting the deeper tones Ichigo used most often. She glanced over at Ichigo. "Ichigo, you're there, right?" Tatsuki heard spirits the best, though she was starting to see faint images of them as well.

"That's where I feel him," Inoue confirmed. She did end up with the most accurate sensing abilities of the three, though her visualization was still shaky. According to her, they all smelled a certain way. Ichigo didn't quite get it, but he rarely understood Inoue anyway.

"And that is where I see him," Chad finished. He had the best visual sense out of all of them. Chad had started with hazy, heat-like images, but could now see clearly, if incredibly faded. Apparently, being around Karin for some reason helped the most.

Karin did the best empathetic abilities, so Ichigo supposed it was some sort of feedback loop. He really honestly had no idea.

"Hello, my name is Kurosaki Ichigo! It's nice to meet you!" the soul candy greeted cheerfully. "What would you like me to do, Master?"

Everyone stared at it, in a vague sense of horror and incredulity, both at the tone of voice and the term of address. For what reason would anyone ever call Ichigo 'Master'? There, was, of course, the fact that this was 'Ichigo' that said it. Later, he might even find this as funny as the others did, once they realized that.

Still! "Yeah, no," Ichigo told it. They? Him? Her? What pronouns did an artificial soul have? "I'm not Master or anything like that. Call me Ichigo," he said.

The soul candy blinked. "Yes, Ichigo!"

"Do they have personalities?" Tatsuki asked Rukia. "If they're just meant to eject spirits from their bodies and keep a gigai out of the way, I mean."

"They do. Their personalities were programmed with several criteria chosen in mind. The one here was decided as the most pleasurable to be around," Rukia said.

"Programmed?" Inoue asked curiously. "You can program souls?"

"Artificial ones," Rukia said, "They are, of course, not true souls. It is why we are able to use them, and not worry about their being consumed by hollows."

Ichigo frowned. If it sounded, looked, and felt like a thing, was it truly that thing? It was a common ethical puzzle. Ichigo tended to the _yes, it is_ side if only because it was better to assume so. Especially when there were people involved.

"All right then," Ichigo said, and turned to the soul. "What do we call you? I'm not just calling you 'soul candy' all the damn time."

"Ah-" the soul candy started, and stared hard at Ichigo. "I'm not- are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't," Ichigo said. That was a pretty interesting reaction, now, wasn't it? "Come up with something, or I'm gonna have to."

"You really don't want him to," Uryū said dryly. Ichigo glared at him but didn't refute it. He really wasn't the best at naming things.

"A cute nickname would work," Rukia suggested, "After all, this soul candy came from the second most popular set in Soul Society, which is shaped like a duck."

"Cute?" Ichigo repeated.

"Cute?" the soul candy echoed. It kept the smile on its face, but Ichigo swore that he could see the shadows creeping up.

Rukia and Chad frowned at him. "Unless you would like to call it by its series name, which is Yuki." Rukia said.

"Eh, Yuki is fine I guess," Ichigo said. "If you don't think about it too hard, it barely sounds cute at all."

"Yes, Ichigo," the newly-dubbed Yuki said.

"Okay, now, we have some Hollows to purify," Rukia said, and started tugging Ichigo away.

"Have fun, Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue said cheerfully. "We'll keep an eye on Yuki-kun!"

"Thanks!" Ichigo replied before he was led past the roof door. "Hey, Rukia, did you notice that Yuki was acting off?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Rukia said. "The personality was different than what I was expecting, but I have never used soul candy before, so it's not something I could say was definitely wrong."

"I dunno, I just have a bad feeling," Ichigo said. "Not, like, bad-bad, but off."

"Well, we left Yuki with your friends. They will keep an eye on him." Rukia said.

That did make Ichigo feel loads better. If anything happened, the others could take care of it.

* * *

Needless to say, it did not go according to plan.

Ichigo and Rukia both stared. Tatsuki had Yuki pinned to the ground, with Uryū holding a glowing rope in his hand. Yuki had the rope tied around his ankles, and Uryū was slowly tying knots on the ropes around his wrists. Mizuiro and Keigo were standing a couple of meters away, only partially aware that Uryū was manipulating something they couldn't see. Inoue frowned at Yuki, and Chad loomed over them all.

"What the hell happened here?" Ichigo demanded as he strode towards his body.

"I was just having some fun!" Yuki whined. "Ichigo, help me!"

"Seriously, what the fuck?" Ichigo asked.

"What happened?" Rukia repeated, so that everyone other than Uryū and Tatsuki could hear.

"He's _defective_ , is what he is," Tatsuki snarled and pressed a hand harder into his face. Ichigo frowned, because _he_ was the one that would have to deal with that. "And if he weren't in your body, Ichigo, I would have _killed_ him."

Ichigo spared a moment to saturate himself with spiritual energy. Not a viable solution long term, but it could work for what happened here. "What did he do?" Ichigo asked.

"He's a pervert, is what he is," Tatsuki said. "He tried to grope Orihime!"

"He _what_ ," Ichigo said. There had to be more than _just_ that, but that was obviously the most pressing one.

"Then why is Uryū tying him up?" Rukia asked, aware that Tatsuki was enough to handle that on her own. Rukia eyed the glowing ropes with interest.

"Because he has incredibly strong legs," Uryū said. "I don't know how that works, but he can jump high and run fast."

Rukia stilled. "Truly?"

"You know something," Ichigo said as he eyed her.

Rukia ignored him and walked up to Yuki and kneeled in front of him. "Would you happen to be a _mod soul_?" she asked.

The way Yuki stopped struggling and _stared_ at Rukia in fear was a resounding _yes_ on his part. Even if that only raised more questions.

"What's a mod soul?" Inoue asked.

Rukia sighed and stood up. "Years ago, there was something called Project Spearhead. The motive of the project was to take artificial souls, and modify them with abilities that would even the playing ground between hollows and shinigami. Hence, mod soul, and the abilities that this one displayed."

"Then why is he so afraid?" Ichigo asked, and crossed his arms. Because that _was_ naked fear in Yuki's eyes. Was he still Yuki if he wasn't part of that series?

"They were destroyed due to the ethical reasons before they were ever used in the field," Rukia said, "Since they were meant to be combat capable, they were designed to be more independent. They were also designed to reanimate human corpses to do so."

There was a lengthy pause as everyone stared between Rukia and the mod soul in horror. There was a lot to unpack in that statement, wasn't there?

Ichigo sighed and rubbed at his face, and let his gathered spiritual energy go. No need to be heard so badly anymore. "Uryū, you got him tied up?" he asked.

"Yes," Uryū replied, and stood. "He won't be going anywhere."

"Thanks," Ichigo said, "Tatsuki, you can let up now. We need to talk."

He waited for a couple of seconds before his voice registered with Tatsuki. She frowned in his general direction before standing up. She could be as angry as she wanted later. They all could. Right now they needed information.

The others realized what was going on and stepped back as well. They were keeping a stern eye on the mod soul, Rukia, and their surroundings. It really wouldn't do to have anyone showing up while this happened.

The mod soul managed to pull himself into a sitting position, though it didn't look too comfortable. "What do you want to know?" he asked. He eyed them all, clearly looking for exits. Too bad he wouldn't find any.

"What did Rukia mean, that all of the modified souls were ordered to be destroyed?" Ichigo asked. Uryū repeated the question quietly for Mizuiro and Keigo.

The mod soul sneered up at him. "The day after I was born, Soul Society ordered the mod souls to be destroyed. The day after I was born, I was already chosen to die! Every day in that pill, I was scared. I watched my friends all disappear each day. I was lucky and escaped the storage with other pills. But still, I was afraid! That I would be found, and killed!"

Well, wasn't that a heavy revelation. "Rukia?" Ichigo asked. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

"It is what it is," Rukia said. "Whether or not I care is irrelevant. Mod souls were to be destroyed, which is the rule of the Soul Society. And you have to remember, those same rules were designed to protect human spirits!"

Ichigo looked at Uryū to stop him from commenting. They could talk about how terrible Soul Society was later. Uryū settled for glaring at Rukia, though he thankfully didn't say anything. Though the others would also need an explanation, too, with the way they were frowning and looking at Rukia thoughtfully.

Later. That was something Ichigo could deal with later.

"Well, we can't let him be destroyed, can we?" Inoue asked them, rocking back on her heels.

Tatsuki scowled. "I wanna hit him for what he did, but yeah, he doesn't need to _die_ for existing. Death to a pervert, sure, but not that."

Uryū shrugged when Ichigo looked at him. "Soul Society wants him dead, so I shall do exactly the opposite."

"That does sound rather cruel," Mizuiro said, a hand pressed to his cheek as he surveyed them all. Keigo nodded next to him.

"I guess it's majority vote, then," Ichigo sighed. He looked to the mod soul. "Well, we're not going to destroy you."

The mod soul let out a shuddering breath of relief.

Rukia _tsk-_ ed and crossed her arms, "We will have problems by going against the rules, but I suppose I am used to getting into trouble already."

"Well, we aren't keeping him in my body, that's for sure," Ichigo said. By some grace of the gods, the mod soul hadn't quite realized that he had breasts. Ichigo would like him out before he figured that out.

"Yeah, no, definitely not," Tatsuki said. "Could we keep him as a pill?"

"We could, but that sounds cruel in its own way, too," Mizuiro pointed out.

"Well, we don't have a spare body lying around," Rukia said.

"Does it have to be a body?" Inoue asked.

Rukia paused. "I… don't know? Probably, considering what they were designed for."

"Well, if you don't know, then there's no harm in trying other things," Inoue said.

"Like what?" Tatsuki asked.

"What about a stuffed animal?" Chad suggested.

"Could that work?" Ichigo asked. Chad certainly had a lot of stuffed animals to spare. And if he asked Yuzu, she would be willing to lend him one of hers.

"Well, we won't know until we try," Rukia said.

"Yeah, let's do that," Ichigo said. He rolled his shoulders. "After school. And first, I need my body back."

* * *

A/N: It's been two years since I've last written for iris, but it's still going strong.


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